Shortly before the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is also inviting to his own special sports event.
Putin said he was “glad” to welcome athletes from the so-called BRICS countries in 2024.
In addition to Russia, the alliance includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
The name BRICS stands for the initials of the countries, an association of emerging economies – a kind of alternative to the US-led G7.
On Wednesday, additional countries (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia) were confirmed for the coming year.
“Games of the future” of the BRICS countries in Russia
The major sporting event is called “Games of the Future”. In these future games, athletes are to compete in traditional sports as well as in eSports.
25 disciplines are on the program. This is reported by the Russian news agency “Tass”, which is close to the Kremlin.
Putin wanted to promote sports and youth contacts in the countries, he said at the BRICS summit in South Africa, where he was connected via video telephony.
“To be precise, we expect to hold the BRICS games in June 2024,” Putin said.
Venue is Kazan. The “World Youth Festival 2024” is also scheduled to take place in the southern Russian city of Sochi.
In 2014, Sochi hosted the Winter Olympics. It later emerged that Russian sport had implemented a state-sponsored doping system there.
Russia wants “no alternative to the Olympic Games”
According to “Tass”, Putin instructed the government in mid-May to present plans and proposals for the BRICS games. They are set to increase between June 12 and 23, 2024.
Sports Minister Oleg Matyzin had recently confirmed that he did not want to found an anti-Olympic. “I emphasize once again: we are not creating an alternative to the Olympic Games and so on. We are an independent country,” he said in July.
The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
The extent to which Russia’s sports stars are allowed to take part in the Olympics has not yet been finally clarified.
In spring, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate again – under a neutral flag. IOC boss Thomas Bach is also committed to this. However, the final decision on this is still pending.
In the event of such a decision, Ukraine had threatened to boycott the games.