A refugee centre in Greece will host part of the Olympic torch relay ahead of the Rio 2016 Games – with the torch being carried by a refugee.

The move was announced by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, who opened the IOC-funded Open Reception Centre for refugees in Athens.

Joined by IOC honorary president Jacques Rogge, Bach explored the sporting facilities built from the £1.4m (US$2m, €1.8m) emergency fund the IOC put aside for the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), and other affected National Olympic Committees, last September.

To date, £978,364 (US$1.4m, €1.3m) of the Refugee Support Programme has gone to NOCs, with the HOC building four basketball courts in the largest refugee centre in Athens. The IOC has also provided scholarships to give displaced people the opportunity to qualify for Rio 2016. A team of refugee athletes will march behind the Olympic Flag during its opening ceremony.

Bach revealed that the HOC will receive an additional sum of money for the regeneration of the Moria Football Stadium on the island of Lesbos to be used by the thousands of refugees and migrants that live there.

Greece is the main entry point into Europe for refugees and migrants – many of whom are fleeing war-torn nations – with close to 1m arrivals last year. Lesbos is the prime landing spot for those fleeing Syria and Afghanistan.

“By providing these sporting facilities we want to give some hope to these refugees,” said Bach. “We want to give them at least a little joy of life in these difficult circumstances. We want to give them the opportunity to mix with each other.”