Games cannot be magic wand amid global conflicts, says Paris 2024 boss

PARIS : The Olympics cannot be expected to solve armed conflicts, but it can pacify relations and open the door for dialogue, Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet told Reuters as the Games prepares to deal with issues arising from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Sports authorities have been criticised for allowing some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in this year's Olympics following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for which Belarus has been used as a staging ground.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December ruled that Russians and Belarusians who qualify in their sports for the Paris Games can take part as neutrals without flags, emblems or anthems, angering Ukraine who had demanded a ban.

The war in Gaza has also affected the build-up to Paris 2024, raising questions about the safety of the Israel delegation, 52 years after 11 sportsmen, coaches and a referee were killed in an attack by Palestinian gunmen on the Israeli team's quarters in the Olympic village in Munich.

Estanguet said that all athletes taking part in the Games should be guaranteed safety and respect, but the Olympics could not be expected to provide solutions to global conflicts.

"It's hard to know six months down the line whether things are going to get worse or calmer," Estanguet, who won Olympic canoeing gold at the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Games, told Reuters.

"You have to stay in your place, not think that the Games are a magic wand that will solve all the problems and armed conflicts in our world, but with the deep conviction that they have a tendency to pacify relations and leave a space for dialogue and positive expression, and that each delegation, each qualified athlete must be respected."

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo last year said she