WBD urges fans to support Refugee Olympic team

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is calling on Olympic fans across Europe to come together to support the Refugee Olympic Team.

The Refugee Olympic Team was first created for Rio 2016 by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach.

According to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, more than 114 million people globally have been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict and human rights violations. This is an increase of more than 40% since Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The IOC Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024 was announced on 2 May, with athletes predominantly selected from 73 Refugee Athlete Scholarship holders.

WBD is now calling on the world to back the team on the road to Paris and beyond while offering support to vulnerable communities.

To help accelerate this mission and to connect new fans with refugee stories, Yusra Mardini is joining the WBD team as Eurosport reporter dedicated to covering the Refugee Olympic Team.

Mardini is a Syrian Refugee Olympic Team athlete, who competed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador whose life story was told in the film The Swimmers.

This will be her first reporting role, presenting live coverage on-site at Paris 2024, getting to the heart of every story involving refugee athletes.

She said: “It is an incredible opportunity for me. My role will be reporting on-site, specifically about the Refugee Olympic Team and the most exciting stories about the Olympics. It’s going to be a really exciting time to bring awareness about refugees and why we’re doing what we do as athletes.

“My message is that this is a time where you can open your heart and your mind for this team and watch the way they compete and listen to their stories. They went through a lot of hardship to get to this point. I’m just excited to see them compete and show the world that just because you’re a refugee, it doesn’t mean that you cannot do what you dream of.”

To kickstart the campaign, WBD has also produced a new short film (which you can watch here) starring refugee athletes competing in an empty stadium. With the team being the only one from 206 nations not to benefit from the support of a home crowd cheering them on, the film inspires viewers to create a new community to get behind the athletes as they prepare to compete at some of the world’s most iconic venues in Paris.

Scott Young, group SVP content, production and business operations at WBD Sports Europe, said: “Through its diversity, its rivalries and above all its trailblazing athletes, sport has a unique ability to unite communities in celebration of human achievements. And, as passionate storytellers, we are uniquely privileged to be able to harness our international reach to support our purpose-driven mission to demonstrate the power of sport in helping displaced people and vulnerable communities to reshape their futures by bringing these stories to the widest possible audience. 

“We are delighted to welcome Yusra Mardini to our ranks, an inspirational athlete and storyteller, who will be joining our team of presenters embedded in the heart of Paris this summer to help us authentically connect audiences all around the world with the athletes and stories from the Refugee Olympic Team. Today is just the beginning and we will be announcing even more initiatives designed to generate mass support for refugee athletes as we head towards Paris 2024.”