Vladimir Putin postpones his Friendship Games, supposed to compete with the Olympics, “until a special decision”

The Russian president, upset that Russian athletes could not compete in their colors at the Olympics, announced the organization of “Friendship Games”, which ultimately still did not see the light of day.

Already postponed, will the Friendship Games ever take place? Vladimir Putin's alternative to the Olympic Games was to take place in September in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, but ultimately did not take place. Monday, December 2, the Russian president ordered a new postponement “until a special decision”according to a decree published on the official website of Russian government legal documents.

A decision made “in order to defend the rights of athletes and sports organizations to free access to international sporting activities”writes the decree. Vladimir Putin had originally made the decision to organize these Friendship Games to compete with the Olympic Games, where only Russian athletes who do not support the war in Ukraine had the right to participate, under a neutral banner.

The organizers had stated that 70 countries, without specifying which ones, were to be present, with a budget of more than eight billion rubles committed (around 71 million euros). However, they never took place, without any official explanation being provided by the authorities.

The IOC had accused Russia before the Paris Olympics of “politicize” sport, and saw in the potential organization of the Friendship Games “a cynical attempt” to exploit athletes “for political propaganda purposes”.