IOC Refugee Olympic Team will be hosted in Bayeux

PARIS (Agencies): Bayeux, France, will be the training ground for the IOC Refugee Team. They will gather there between 15 and 18 July, just before heading to the Olympic Village to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. For the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, consisting of athletes living and training worldwide, the camp will serve as an opportunity to strengthen team spirit and help establish a sense of unity among teammates. They will join together, share resources, and live under the same roof,. To commemorate the announcement, the city of Bayeux hosted a ceremony in the presence of Masomah Ali Zada, a member of the Refugee Olympic Team Tokyo 2020 and a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, as well as representatives from the Olympic Refugee Foundation. Participants were also invited to a screening of the documentary ‘We Dare to Dream,’ directed by Oscar-nominated refugee filmmaker Waad al-Kateab. ‘We Dare to Dream’ follows the journey of five refugee athletes as they prepare for and compete in Tokyo 2020. A film that undoubtedly also serves to unify experiences and identify with what is portrayed.

The event took place in the context of the Prix Bayeux, a renowned international award ceremony that recognizes the courage and dedication of war correspondents. Due to the history of Normandy and as represented in events like the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy War Correspondents Prize, the region is deeply attuned to the difficult situation of refugees worldwide. To date, 63 Refugee Athletes Scholarship-holders are being supported and training hard with the hope of being selected for the Olympic Games in Paris. Together, they represent 13 sports, 12 nations, and live in 23 host countries.