LAUSANNE, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Thursday a 36-member Refugee Olympic Team for the Paris Olympic Games, as well as a new emblem for the team for the first time.
The 36 athletes are from 11 different countries and regions and will compete across 12 sports.
IOC President Thomas Bach said on the ceremony at Olympic House here, "You will make billions of people around the world aware of the magnitude of the refugee crisis. Therefore, I encourage everyone, around the world, to join us in cheering for you - the IOC Refugee Olympic Team."
The vast majority of the athletes were selected from among the refugee athletes supported by the IOC through the Refugee Athletes Scholarship Program, funded by the IOC's Olympic Solidarity program and managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation.
The new emblem will bring a unique identity to the team for the first time in the Olympic history. The design of arrows around a circle represents the team members come from different corners of the world but also have the shared and lived experience of their journeys. The heart at the center of the emblem is originated from the Olympic Refugee Foundation logo, to represent the belonging the team hopes to inspire and that athletes and displaced people around the world have found through sport.
Chef de Mission for the Refugee Olympic Team, Ali Zada said: "This emblem brings us all together. We are all unified by our experience - though all different, we have all had a journey to get to where we are. The athletes are not representing a specific country, they are representing the Refugee Olympic Team."
This is the third time the Refugee Olympic Team appears at the Games. The first team was formed at Rio 2016 and 10 refugee athletes competed at the Games. At Tokyo 2020, 29 athletes from the team competed. ■