Former French footballer Basil Boli holds the Olympic torch at the Notre-Dame de la Garde cathedral in Marseille on May 9, 2024. (Photo by CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP)
- The Olympic torch relay started Thursday in Marseille, France.
- The opening ceremony in Paris on July 26 will be just the beginning of a 12,000-kilometre torch relay through France and its far-flung overseas territories.
- The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26th to August 11th, and the Paralympic Games will be held from August 28th to September 8th.
- Learn more about Olympic sports here. Dedicated page.
The Olympic torch relay began in Marseille on Thursday, with soccer legend Basil Boli taking the torch in front of the iconic Notre-Dame de la Garde cathedral, a day after making a grand entrance by sea.
The former France international, who scored the only goal in Marseille's victory over AC Milan in the 1993 European Champions Cup final, stands at 08:00 directly beneath the famous golden “Good Mother” statue watching over France's second league title. We left in 20 minutes. -The largest city.
“It's heart-pounding and amazing,” Boli said.
“It's the Olympic torch, it's a symbol of sport, it's a symbol of living together, it's a symbol of everything we could want in the world.”
The first part of the 78-day torch relay will have a strong soccer element, with Ivorian great Didier Drogba also joining the torchbearers in the southern port city on Thursday.
The torch will also visit the Stade Vélodrome, home of the Marseille team, where 10 games of the Olympic men's and women's soccer competition will be held.
The opening ceremony in Paris on July 26 will be just the beginning of a 12,000-kilometre torch relay through France and its far-flung overseas territories.
The torch arrived on French soil in Marseille on Wednesday aboard the 19th-century sailing ship Belém, drawing 150,000 spectators for a ceremony that was the first major safety challenge for Paris 2024 organizers. The torch arrived in front of the
As the ship, accompanied by hundreds of small boats, entered the old port of Marseille, planes from the Patrouille de France exhibition team drew the Olympic rings in the sky, followed by the red, white, and red of the French flag. I followed the blue.
Read | The 2024 Paris Olympic torch will be lit in ancient Olympia
Fireworks were set off as the Belém entered port after a 12-day voyage from Greece, and the torch was lit at ancient Olympia on April 16.
Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Florent Manadou carried the torch from the ship, passed it to Paralympic champion sprinter Keita Nantenin, and passed the torch to French rapper Jules to light the cauldron. handed over.
Organizers hope the first Olympics open to the public on French soil will help build excitement after controversy over ticket prices and safety concerns.
President Emmanuel Macron praised Marseille's security forces for their “unprecedented efforts”. And after watching the torch arrive, he said he hoped the Olympics would unite France.
“I want our compatriots to imagine that this is a moment of unity, that we are capable of it and that we can be proud of it,” he said.
After the coronavirus-ravaged Tokyo 2021 Games and the corruption-plagued 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the Paris Olympics are seen as a key moment for the sporting festival.
Around 6,000 security forces are working behind the scenes in Marseille, with the country on the highest terrorism alert.
Tight security will be in place at all times as the torch passes through more than 450 towns and cities in France and dozens of tourist attractions, including Mont Saint-Michel. They will also visit French overseas territories such as Guadeloupe, New Caledonia and Réunion.
About 200 security forces, including anti-terrorism SWAT teams and anti-drone operatives, will be stationed around the torch.
Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin cited the risk of protests by far-left groups and environmental activists such as Extinction Rebellion.
Organizers have promised a “spectacular” and “iconic” Olympic and Paralympic Games, with much of the sport scheduled to take place at venues around the City of Lights, including the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides.
The Olympic opening ceremony on July 26 will be held on a boat on the Seine, in a marked departure from past games that opened at the main stadium.
But President Macron said last month that the opening ceremony could be changed if the security risks were too high.
All major infrastructure has been completed, with only two new permanent sports venues built to reduce financial costs and carbon emissions.
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26th to August 11th, and the Paralympic Games will be held from August 28th to September 8th.
