In Latvia, advertisements will be shown during the performance of Belarusian athletes at the Olympics
The TV channels of the Latvian media holding TV3 Group will not inform their viewers about the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus, who compete in a neutral status, in the Winter Olympic Games. This was reported to the LETA agency by Toms Cīrcenis, director of sports programs for the Go3 platform.
Medals of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Photo: Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images
Toms Cīrcenis explained that this is a conscious editorial position: from the first days of the war, the media holding has openly opposed Russian aggression and considers it wrong to focus on the performances of neutral athletes from aggressor countries. According to him, such a position is honest towards the audience.
During the recent European Luge Championship, channel TV6 showed advertisements during the performances of Russian athletes. Cīrcenis noted that initially, the possibility of not broadcasting these competitions at all was even considered, but this would have been unfair to Latvian lugers, for whom this season is an Olympic one and who are forced to compete alongside athletes from the aggressor country.
The media group plans to follow a similar practice during the Winter Olympic Games — in all news blocks and in various sports, not only luge.
Last September, the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, under a neutral flag.
The Latvian Olympic Committee does not support this decision, considering the participation of athletes associated with aggressor countries premature and contrary to the spirit of the Olympic Games.
Seven female athletes from Belarus will take part in the main event of the quadrennium under a neutral flag: Hanna Huskova, Hanna Dziaruga, and Anastasiya Andryianava (all — freestyle), Maryna Zuyeva (speed skating), Viktoriya Safonova (figure skating), Hanna Karalyova (cross-country skiing), and Maryia Shkanava (alpine skiing).
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