Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the International Olympic Committee announced on Tuesday.

The IOC decided last year that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to participate in the Games as neutral athletes, without an accompanying national flag or anthem. On Tuesday, the commission announced the rules that will govern the participation of neutral athletes.

During the opening ceremony in July, boats representing each national team will sail along the Seine River, marking the first time the opening ceremony will take place outside the stadium. However, neutral athletes “will not participate in the parade of missions during the Opening Ceremony as they are individual athletes,” the IOC said.

“But they will be given the opportunity to experience the event,” the committee added.

The IOC said that expects 36 Russian athletes and 22 Belarusians to qualify for Paris Olympics. Athletes who “actively support the war” in Ukraine or are contracted to the military or security services are not eligible to compete.

The IOC said it would decide “at a later stage” whether to allow neutral athletes to take part in the closing ceremony.

Last October, the International Olympic Committee today expelled the Russian National Olympic Committee from its ranks “with immediate effect” for placing sports organizations in the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia under its authority.