LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Iraq and Afghanistan were among the record number of invitees for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens on Wednesday.
The invite came exactly a year before the Opening Ceremony. The International Olympic Committee announced that 201 national organizing committees have been invited to take part in the Games.
Among those in attendance during a ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland, in which IOC President Jacques Rogge signed 17 invitations were members of the NOCs from Afghanistan and two newly recognized delegations.
Iraq was not represented, but Rogge expressed his hope that a delegation from the war-torn country will be able to participate. Efforts are under way by the IOC to rebuild Iraq's NOC before next summer.
The rise in NOC participation is partly due to the reinstatement of Afghanistan, which rejoined the Olympic family after its suspension during the Taliban regime.
Also added were Timor-Leste, an island located between Indonesia and Australia, and the tiny island of Kirbati.
