IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said the matter would be discussed at the "next session", on 19 March in Lausanne. "As of today, this is not the case; athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports who are taking part in the Games have not been banned (from attending the ceremony)," IOC Coordination Commission chairman Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant said.

Russian and Belarusian Paralympic athletes will not take part in the opening ceremony, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Wednesday. Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be able to compete in team events at the Olympic Games from 26 July to 11 August, but will be allowed to take part as neutrals - without flags or anthems.

Medallists athletes will also be banned from any displays of nationality, such as symbols or anthems. Instead, the neutral flag - white with black lettering reading NPA (Neutral Paralympic Athletes) - will be raised and the Paralympic anthem will be played in the stadium. The results of these athletes on the podium will not be included in the official medals table.

The Russian Paralympic Committee, which could send up to 125 athletes, has criticised the guidelines as "discriminatory". In a statement they argued: "Denying athletes the right to demonstrate that they come from a certain country or to celebrate victory when their country's anthem is played is to deny them the right to a national identity. This is unfair to Russian athletes and puts them at a disadvantage compared to athletes from other countries".