In March 2016, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced the creation of the Refugee Olympic Athletes Team, as a symbol of hope for all refugees in the world in order to raise global awareness of the scale of the migrant crisis in Europe.

The participating athletes marched in the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics, with the team entering the stadium as the penultimate delegation, just before the host country.

The selection criteria include the sporting level, the official refugee status verified by the United Nations, the personal situation, and the background of each athlete.

The IOC Session tasked Olympic Solidarity with establishing the conditions of participation and defining the team identification and selection process.

[6] Swimmer Yusra Mardini, who competed in the 2016 Rio Games as part of the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team, and marathon runner Tachlowini Gabriyesos were selected as flag bearers for the IOC Refugee Olympic Team at the 2020 Tokyo Games.