PARIS – The Olympic flame for the Paris Games 2024 will pass through 64 departments – including five abroad – and 400 cities in 68 days before igniting the cauldron.
Organizers announced the route for the torch relay at a Paris university on Friday.
“Paris 2024 is the largest collaborative project in our history,” said Organizing Committee President Tony Estanguet. “The torch relay plays an important role because it can touch so many people.”
The torch is lit by the sun’s rays on April 16th Ancient Olympia, Greece. It is then carried across the country before being handed over in Athens.
The blaze will leave Athens on April 27 aboard a three-masted ship called the Belem bound for the French port of Marseille — a former Greek colony founded 2,600 years ago.
The belem was first used in 1896, the same year that the modern Olympic Games were held again. Skippered by French navigator Armel Le Cléac’h, winner of the 2017 Vendée Globe solo circumnavigation. The crew will reach Marseille on May 8th.
After leaving Marseille, the torch relay leads to historical sites such as the imposing Mont Saint Michel in Normandy and the 2,500 year old medieval city of Carcassonne. It also goes along the famous red wine vineyards of Saint-Émilion and the white wine vineyards of Chablis.
“It’s the games of the country,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, referring to French author Victor Hugo and his theme of universality. “Paris belongs to the whole country.”
Even beyond its borders.
A passage in France’s overseas territories, dubbed Relais des Oceans (Ocean Relays), begins June 9 in Guyana and travels through Reunion Island, Polynesia, Gaudeloupe and Martinique before returning to Nice on June 18.
“It’s going to be spectacular,” said Estanguet, a three-time Olympic canoe champion.
Continuing overland, the torch will ascend the Alpine pass of Chamonix for Olympic Day on June 23, before spending July 14 – known as Bastille Day, France’s national holiday – and Paris on July 15.
The torch will then tour various Parisian suburbs before arriving back in Paris via Seine-Saint-Denis – home of the Stade de France.
“It’s an opportunity to bring everyone together, regardless of background,” Hidalgo said.
More details on the Paris route will be announced on July 5th.
The place where the cauldron is lit and at what time are kept secret until the day itself; many expect it to be the famous Eiffel Tower.
A total of 10,000 people will take part in the torch relay. The four captains of the relay will be Olympic swimming champions Laure Manaudou and Florent Manaudou – who are siblings – as well as Paralympians Mona Francis (triathlon) and Dimitri Pavadé (long jump).
SECURITY
The local police forces responsible for each section of the squadron will help with security. Law enforcement will escort and protect the blaze with a safety bubble around the torch and its carrier.
A team of eight called “Les Gardiens de la Flamme” (The Guardians of the Flame) was handpicked to ensure the flame burned constantly. They were selected from police and military forces after an internal competition.
The Paris Games will take place from July 26th to August 26th. 11, followed by the Paralympics from August 28th to September 28th. 8. The Paralympic flame is lit in the British town of Stoke Mandeville and carried by 1,000 people.
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