20 June 2024 – On behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Olympian Yusra Mardini has spoken for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team to highlight the importance of the team in representing over 100 Million displaced people globally at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Appearing onstage on World Refugee Day at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, the two-time Olympic swimmer recalled her escape from Syria during the civil war and her experience of representing the hopes and dreams of refugees globally at Rio 2016.

The IOC recently launched the 1 in 100 Million campaign created especially for the Refugee Olympic Team ahead of Paris 2024. For the first time, the campaign provides the team with a team emblem, a visual identity and a platform to share their incredible stories of resilience. The ambition of the campaign is to encourage Olympic fans to support and cheer on this team at the Games using the #ForThe100Million.

Mardini said: “The message of this team is more important than ever. Refugees are normal people with dreams and ambitions. Refugees embody the Olympic spirit. Each athlete on the Refugee Olympic Team has overcome incredible odds to get to Paris. They represent the more than 100 million displaced people in the world. They are ‘1 in 100 million’.”

The campaign celebrates the 36 athletes on the team and raises awareness of the more than 100 million people currently displaced worldwide.