Thursday. 28.03.2024

The Olympic Refugee Team will receive a prestigious Princess of Asturias Award in the sports category this year, the Spanish foundation behind the prizes said on Wednesday.

A refugee team competed for the first time at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with 10 athletes. At the Tokyo Summer Games last year, there were 29 athletes.

The team are "a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world," the foundation quoted International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach as saying.

The Princess of Asturias Awards are named after the heiress to the Spanish throne and are awarded annually in eight categories. Winners receive €50,000 ($53,000) and a sculpture by Joan Miró.

King Felipe VI will present the awards in the Asturian capital of Oviedo at the end of October.

Olympic refugee team wins Spain's Princess of Asturias Award