The Olympic Park in London was among the venues considered for hosting an Olympic Qualifier Series for breaking, skateboarding, sport climbing and BMX freestyle scheduled for June next year.

However, it is being reported that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled out London's chances.

"We are extremely disappointed that we have not been able to bring the Olympic Qualifier Series to the UK, as we had hoped," a British Olympic Association (BOA) spokesman told insidethegames.

"It is particularly frustrating for those British athletes who are now missing out on the advantage of striving to qualify for Paris in front of a passionate home crowd."

The British Government has said that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in the country only if they sign a personal declaration of neutrality and not support Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to IOC recommendations in March, athletes from the two nations should be allowed to compete as neutrals, provided they do not support the war in Ukraine and are not affiliated with the military.

The Olympic governing body had recently accused European Governments of "double standards" over the readmission of athletes from Russia and Belarus.

"We have not seen a single comment from them about their attitude towards the participation of athletes whose countries are involved in the other 70 wars, armed conflicts and crises in the world," the IOC said.

The 2023 Wimbledon that ended yesterday saw players from both nations take part as neutrals.

However, its is not sure if they were asked to sign any personal declaration.

Last year, Wimbledon had imposed a ban on players from Belarus and Russia taking part in the Championships.

The Olympic Qualifier Series is part of the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 project and builds on the success of urban sports at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games.

Skateboarding and sport climbing made their Olympic debut in the Japanese capital with both set to feature again in Paris.

Breaking also has been added to the programme for the 2024 Games.

"The IOC recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organisers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions say that athletes can compete only as Individual Neutral Athletes," an IOC spokesperson told insidethegames.

"Athletes who actively support the war, and athletes who are contracted to the military or national security agencies, cannot compete.

"This is in principle very similar to the approach which allowed athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to compete at Wimbledon.

"But the British government was not ready to acknowledge this approach for a potential Olympic Qualifier Series event in London.

"In their 'Informal Guidance to National Governing Bodies on the Participation of Russian and Belarusian Sportspeople', they went even further by offering government support for any British athlete who decided to boycott an event involving athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports.

"Such support for a boycott goes against all the rules of international sport and the Olympic Charter, which prohibit any discrimination.

"Therefore, a decision was taken to discontinue the discussions about hosting an Olympic Qualifier Series event in Britain.

"A decision regarding the hosts of the Olympic Qualifier Series will be announced in the future."