A protest was held in Sydney, Australia, where demonstrators demanded Russia be banned from taking part in the 2024 Olympic Games.

Footage from February 21 shows the protesters gathered near the Sydney Opera House.

The protest comes as more than 30 countries, including the UK, have pledged support to an ongoing ban on Russian and Belarussian athletes from competing in international events.

According to reports, the International Olympic Committee are exploring ways to allow the athletes to compete as neutrals.

Ukrainians and their supporters protested outside the Sydney offices of the Australian Olympic Committee which are located in the Museum of Contemporary Art Australian (MCAA) building at 140 George Street, The Rocks. A statement by protest organisers reads: ‘The International Olympic Committee plans to allow russian athletes to participate in Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Let's put pressure on the Australian Olympic Committee to vote against such decision. We all know that russia is using major sporting events as a platform to spread their propaganda, to whitewash the atrocities they commit in Ukraine, to normalise russia. The world has to unite against russian terrorism and by banning russian athletes from Olympics sends a strong message that the world is against russia's invasion of Ukraine.’