After the arrival of the flame in the Old Port this Wednesday, the 69-day relay, which will lead the sacred fire until the opening of the Paris Olympic Games on July 26, will actually begin on French soil this Thursday in Marseille.
Sponsor of the event, Coca-Cola will organize numerous festivities, starting with the Sopranos concert this May 8. Based in Atlanta (United States), Canadian Tim Dignard, director of sports partnerships and Coca-Cola operations, explains how unifying this event can be.
You have worked on several torch relays. What’s special about them?
TIM DIGNARD. My first Games were those in Vancouver in 2010. At the time, I worked for the organizing committee. I was in the office on the day of the opening ceremony, the flame arrived outside. We had been on the project for months, and the moment we went out to see the passage, I wanted to cry because the emotion was so strong. Regardless of the host country, it is a unique moment and we often find the strongest and most iconic moments on this torch relay.
What does the relay represent for Coca-Cola, sponsor of the event?
Our team in France is doing tremendous work for Paris 2024. The flame that is starting to cross France is the efforts that are coming to fruition. Preparing for Paris 2024 is a marathon and not a sprint, and the magic of the relay provides that boost of energy that propels you towards the start of the Games. As a historic partner of the Olympic Games, we have an important role to play in making these Paris 2024 Games a great success. We, the sponsors, are also here to create magical experiences that people will remember for a lifetime.
Here, the torch relay during its passage through Quebec before the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. Coca Cola
Did one relay impact you more than another?
The memory that comes back to me is Rio 2016. We went to a small village in the north of the country without knowing if people were going to come. We arrived in this tiny village, and everything was ready: signs, color-coordinated t-shirts. The locals even created their own torches.
It was really special because most people had never seen anything like it before and everyone was running alongside the carrier. We were thanked for bringing the flame.
It’s about creating those connections with people, those moments that they’ll never forget, and that’s really what’s so important to us. That’s why we do this work, to create magical experiences for people that they will remember for a lifetime.
Do the security issues, which are now very strong, on the torch relay have an impact on magic?
The Paris 2024 organizing committee, the French state and the police are fantastic partners with whom we work closely on this very important subject. We follow their guidelines and safety is always at the forefront of everything we plan on the relay, but we know we are in good hands.
Do you talk a lot about the flame between colleagues?
This is truly something special and different within our Olympic partnership, and employees are proud to be part of this project. Internally, we talk a lot about Barcelona 1992, the first relay of which we were partners, and everyone knows that Paris 2024 will be the 15th time that we will accompany the flame.
Even residents of Atlanta (Coca-Cola headquarters) still talk about 1996 and the memories they have of the passing of the flame in front of their house, or of the opening ceremony during which Mohammed Ali lit the cauldron . I also speak with a lot of Americans, and there is a lot of excitement around Paris 2024, people can’t wait to come to France.
Many of them are planning to come to France for the Games, because it is a country they love and they have always dreamed of visiting Paris. These Olympic and Paralympic Games are therefore the perfect opportunity to come.
What do you want to say to the French who are not convinced by the Games?
Go ahead, because it’s truly unique to host the Olympic Games in your country and you will feel great pride in being French. The Games begin with the torch relay, and it is the perfect opportunity for all French people to experience the magic of the Games. I promise you that if you go, you won’t regret it!
