The Olympic flame for the Paris Olympics was lit midday on Tuesday at the ancient site of Olympia in Greece, some 100 days before the opening ceremony on July 26.
Published on: 04/16/2024 – 11:54
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Due to cloudy skies at the site of the first ancient Olympic Games, lighting could not be done with the sun’s rays as ancient tradition dictates, and was carried out with a reserve flame retained during Monday’s dress rehearsal. After an 11-day journey through Greece, the flame will be transported to France for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris on July 26.
The lighting of the flame for the Games which will be held until August 11 took place in front of the 2,600 year old ruins of the temple of Hera, in the cradle of Olympicism, in the presence of the president of the International Committee. Olympic (IOC), Thomas Bach. “ In these difficult times, where wars and conflicts are increasing, people are fed up with hatred “, he said in a short speech in Olympia. “ In all of our hearts, we long for something that brings us together again, something that unifies us, something that gives us hope “, he added. “ The Olympic flame that we light today symbolizes this hope “, also assured the German.
600 torchbearers over 5,000 km
The president of the organizing committee for the Paris Olympics, Tony Estanguet, also saw in these Olympics “ more than ever a force of inspiration (…) for all of us and for future generations » while the world is shaken by crises.
In Greece, six hundred torchbearers will pass the flame which will travel 5,000 km across seven Greek islands, ten archaeological sites and the Rock of the Acropolis where it will spend a night next to the Parthenon.
In the Greek port of Piraeus, the flame will board the three-masted Belem on April 26, which will reach Marseille, in the south-east of France, on May 8.
The symbol of the Olympic Games will then cross all of France, passing through the Antilles and French Polynesia.
🔴 The first bearer of the Olympic flame has just passed it on to the former Olympic swimmer #LaureManaudou.
A symbolic moment for the champion, 20 years after her coronation at the 2004 Athens Games. pic.twitter.com/FowWtMMnhQ
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) April 16, 2024
