The Olympic flame for the Summer Games in Paris was lit in the ancient site of Olympia. Traditionally, the Olympic flame is lit using a parabolic mirror. However, because the sun did not shine, the torch had to be lit with a fire that had been lit the day before during the dress rehearsal.
The ceremony was based on the millennia-old tradition from ancient Greece. With the words: “Apollon, god of the sun and light, you have sent your rays and lit the torch for the hospitable city of Paris,” the Greek actress Mary Mina opened the ceremony in the role of a high priestess. In the ruins of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera in southwest Greece, spectators took part in the event for the first time since the corona pandemic.
17,000 kilometer relay race and sea trip to Paris
The Olympic Games are a symbol of peace, said Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), during the ceremony. “In these difficult times in which we live, when wars and conflicts are increasing, people are fed up with all the hatred, aggression and negative news that they face every day.”
The torch will now be taken to Paris, this year’s host city of the Games. In the coming days it will be carried in a relay race over a distance of 5,000 kilometers through numerous regions of Greece. The first torchbearer is the Greek Olympic rowing champion Stefanos Ntouskos. Swimmer Laure Manaudou will be the first to carry the Olympic torch for France.
On April 26th, the flame will be handed over to the organizers of the Paris Games – in the old Olympic Stadium in Athens. The first modern Olympic Games took place there in 1896. The fire will then set sail from the port of Piraeus on board the French three-master Belem to Marseille. From there the flame is carried 12,000 kilometers through the mainland and overseas territories of France. The arrival of the fire in France is scheduled for May 8th.
100 meter freestyle in the Seine?
The Olympic Games will open on July 26th – possibly in the Seine in front of the Paris City Hall. “We will be swimming in the Seine in July,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo said earlier this year. Their goal is to get the river clean enough by the time of the Olympics so that some of the competitions can be held in it.
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However, President Emmanuel Macron said the opening ceremony could possibly be limited to a small section of the Seine or even moved entirely to the stadium for security reasons. The preferred scenario is still to hold the celebration with hundreds of thousands of spectators along the river and thus organize “a world premiere”.
Fear of terror at France’s largest event to date
Since Paris’ Olympic bid, France has invested around 1.4 billion euros to clean up the Seine, Macron said. There are two main problems: Firstly, around 30,000 households upstream discharge their wastewater directly into the Marne or the Seine. On the other hand, the Paris sewer system could not withstand large amounts of rainfall. Therefore, wastewater has to be washed into the river several times a year.
However, the people of Paris are not the only ones concerned about the dirty water of the Seine. Apparently there is also growing concern about the security of the Olympic Games. Experts believe that the event could be a potential target for attacks. After the terrorist attack in Moscow in March, the Paris government declared the highest warning level for possible attacks.
The Interior Ministry said 4,000 soldiers had been put on alert, in addition to the 3,000 already deployed as part of Operation Sentinelle. The upgrade also allows the security forces to take hundreds of additional measures, from bag searches at events to increased controls at the border.
The Olympic flame for the Summer Games in Paris was lit in the ancient site of Olympia. Traditionally, the Olympic flame is lit using a parabolic mirror. However, because the sun did not shine, the torch had to be lit with a fire that had been lit the day before during the dress rehearsal.
The ceremony was based on the millennia-old tradition from ancient Greece. With the words: “Apollon, god of the sun and light, you have sent your rays and lit the torch for the hospitable city of Paris,” the Greek actress Mary Mina opened the ceremony in the role of a high priestess. In the ruins of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera in southwest Greece, spectators took part in the event for the first time since the corona pandemic.
