I have two serious reasons why the Olympians cannot be awarded immediately. I am going to organize a public celebration, as I announced. Such a statement made today the President of Georgia.

“I would like to congratulate everyone on this extraordinary victory, not only those who returned with medals and made the public very happy, but also everyone who participated. It is very important for our country to participate at this level with so many victories.

Today at 13:00 I was informed that at 20:00 in the evening there would be a reception, welcoming the Olympians and, it turns out, awarding. I am not in the habit of quibbling, we have political issues of another level. As we all left together, I publicly announced that I would meet them in September when they returned.

I have two serious reasons why they cannot be rewarded so quickly. This is serious business, not something to be done in haste. The first reason: I believe that this is an issue that united the country, the society, we should all celebrate together, not in a closed space where we are afraid of people, but it should be a public celebration. I am going to organize a public celebration, as I announced.

The second reason: The Paralympics start now, run through September 8. It"s incredible, I don’t know who the minister of sports or the government forgets, how we can celebrate the return of our Olympians, separately the athletes who participated in the main Olympic Games and separately the Paralympians. No, no discrimination! This is unacceptable. The people and the society, Olympians and Paralympians will receive everyone together... We are waiting for you in September”, - explained Salome Zourabichvili.