“I consider this Olympic flame to be the 49th person on board,” Aymeric Gibet, the captain of the Belem, announces to his crew. I do not prohibit her from living with us on a daily basis, she will not necessarily always be in the same place, it is up to us to take great care of her. At some point you will all have that intimate moment with the Olympic fire, you will be alone with that flame. It will be seen by millions of people, but for 12 days it will only be ours. »
Saturday morning, in the port of Piraeus, in Athens (Greece), Tony Estanguet took one of the lanterns aboard the legendary ship, containing the precious flame. Identical for 30 years, the lanterns constitute “a symbol of perpetuity of the relay,” we explain at Paris 2024. They are specially designed to preserve the Olympic flame in various conditions and allow it to be transported over long distances. »
