ERR will not broadcast Paralympic events with Russian and Belarusian athletes
Estonian Public Broadcasting will not show events at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games that include Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their own flag.
Six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their nations' flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympics after the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) lifted its ban on athletes from the two countries competing at the Games.
Both countries were suspended from competition after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The IPC confirmed to BBC Sport on Tuesday that the 10 athletes have been awarded bipartite commission invitations to compete in Para-alpine skiing, Para-cross country skiing and Para-snowboarding at the Milan-Cortina Games.
Rivo Saarna, head of ERR's sports editorial department, said ERR's television channels will not broadcast competition coverage from the Milano Cortina Paralympics in which Russian and Belarusian athletes are participating.
"Estonian Public Broadcasting unequivocally condemns the normalization of the actions of aggressor states through sport and the Olympic movement and denounces the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games under the flags of aggressor states. In connection with this, ERR's television channels will not broadcast competition coverage from the Milano Cortina Paralympics in which Russian and Belarusian athletes are participating," he said on Wednesday.
"At present, we plan to bring live broadcasts of the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies to viewers, but during those broadcasts, we will inform viewers about the decisions of international sports organizations and the background regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. At the same time, this issue, together with possible reactions during live ceremony broadcasts, is under discussion in other public-service television channels of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), and depending on the outcome of those decisions, we are prepared to expand restrictions on Paralympic Games broadcasts as well," Saarna added.
The Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics will take place from March 6-15.
In January, Latvia's public broadcaster LSM said it would not show athletes from Russia and Belarus competing under neutral flags at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
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Editor: Helen Wright
