This file photo taken on June 8, 2020 shows the Olympic rings logo at the entrance of the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne. (PHOTO / AFP)

LAUSANNE - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) plans to send invitations to 203 eligible National Olympic Committees (NOCs) on July 26, signaling a one-year countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

According to IOC tradition, invitations are extended to all NOCs worldwide exactly one year prior to either the Summer Games or the Winter Games.

According to the IOC, the current IOC recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organizers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions do not concern their participation at Paris 2024 or the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

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People wait outside the headquarters of the Paris Olympic organizers, on June 20, 2023 in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. (PHOTO / AP)

The IOC maintained that it would make the decision at the appropriate time, exercising full discretion, and without being bound by the results of previous Olympic qualification competitions.

Invitations to the 203 eligible NOCs will be dispatched on July 26.

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"For the reasons given, this will exclude the NOCs of Russia and Belarus, plus the NOC of Guatemala, which is currently suspended," the IOC stated.