For the first time in 40 years, Russian television will not broadcast the Olympic Games, The opening ceremony will take place on 26 July, with only a small number of Russian athletes participating due to the war in Ukraine.
Channel One and Rossía They will not broadcast the eventnot even in disciplines where Russians compete, something that had not happened since the Soviet Union and the communist side chose to stay away from the games held in Los Angeles in 1984. The same thing happened in the United States in 1980.under the pretext of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Sources from these public channels told Russian media that the decision had been taken a long time ago. political decision not to show the Russian team competing without a flag or anthem. Russian television did broadcast the Tokyo Games in 2021, although the Slavic team also attended then only with neutral athletes.
From high officials to Russian politicians have assured that They will not resort to foreign channels to watch the sporting event, not even to know the performance of their compatriots.
Why won’t the Olympics be broadcast?
Some commentators opined that the authentic The reason for the television boycott is financialas the absence of Russian athletes does not guarantee high audience ratings, so the channels refused to acquire the rights.
There was a possibility that Match TV, the sports channel, would broadcast the main competitions, but after the taekwondo, judo and wrestling federations rejected the IOC’s invitation at the last minute, that option was also ruled out.
“Spending millions for 15 people in unpopular sports is an unjustified cost”Match TV reported. Faced with this situation, various journalists said that the decision by television channels to boycott the games is “a catastrophe of national magnitude.”
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Reuters
“So, for Russian sports television, since the national flag is not there, the Olympic Games are no longer a celebration (…) “Not broadcasting the Games is a political decision,” he told Novaya Gazeta..}
Another option for Russians is to follow the Games through the IOC channel, an option that Russians have been able to use since Wednesday, when the football tournament started with the match between Spain and Uzbekistan (2-1).
Russian athletes who will participate in the 2024 Olympic Games
Only 15 Russian athletes and 16 Belarusians They will be able to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics. The list includes seven tennis players, three canoeists, three cyclists, one swimmer and one trampoline gymnast, compared to the 335 athletes who also participated without a flag in Tokyo, when the war in Ukraine had not yet begun.
Tennis players heading to the French capital include Daniil Medvedev, Pavel Kotov, Roman Safiullin, Yekaterina Alexandrova, Mirra Andreeva, Diana Shnider and Yelena Vesnina. Russia’s two-wheeled team includes Tamara Dronova, Alyona Ivanchenko and Gleb Syritsa, while Zakhar Petrov, Alexey Korovashkov and Olesya Romasenko will be taking to the waters of Paris in canoes and pirogues. They will be joined by swimmer Yevgeny Somov and gymnast Anzhela Bladtseva.
By decision of the International Olympic Committee, all Russian athletes will be neutral, meaning they will not be allowed to wear national symbols or play their national anthem. In addition, There will be no Russian representation in team sports.
Source: Ambito
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