The Olympic flame arrived in Marseille this Wednesday to begin its journey to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games after a 12-day journey from Greece aboard the three-masted ship Belem.
Thousands of people waited in the port of Marseille, the city that will host the Paris 2024 sailing competition, for the Olympic flame to begin its tour of France with 79 days left until the start of the Olympic Games.
Shortly after 6:20 p.m., the ship docked in the old port of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, where the first Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron was lit at 6:34 p.m.
The mythical Belem arrived off the shores of Marseille in the Mediterranean at around 7am, but docked only hours later to carry out its planned programme, accompanied by hundreds of boats.
Former swimmer Florent Manaudou, an Olympic champion in the 50m freestyle in London in 2012, carried the flame on a boat and was the first to bear it on French soil after his sister Laura was the first French woman to carry the torch when she returned to Greece. ., after the flame lighting ceremony.
The second person to carry the torch was French Paralympic track and field champion Nantenin Keita, who passed it on to French rapper Jules, whose name was kept secret from the gods and who had the honor of lighting the pyre.
In the path of the flame in Marseille, several famous names of French sport will stand as torchbearers, such as former basketball player Tony Parker, Pascal Trinquet-Aschen, the first French individual Olympic champion in fencing, or former football players Jean-Pierre Papin, Basil Boly, who shone in the local club Didier Drogba and city native Louise Necib.
Cultural and artistic figures will also carry the torch along the first kilometers of the route in France, and the flame will also visit overseas territories such as French Polynesia, where surfing competitions will be held.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.