The Olympic Flame and its 10,000 torchbearers will criss-cross France (Photo: Paris2024 / Fanny Magot)
The Olympic Flame has arrived in Marseille on May 8, where it was met by an emblematic trio of first torchbearers on French soil namely Florent Manaudou, Nantenin Keita and JuL.
In a press statement, the Paris 2024 organisers say that more than 1,000 boats and 150,000 people were in attendance for a historic event. The Olympic Flame and its 10,000 torchbearers will criss-cross France and its overseas territories for 69 days, passing through more than 450 towns and covering 17,000 km until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on July 26.
The organisers say that for the arrival of the flame in France, it was important for organisers to choose an Olympian as the first torchbearer and it was swimmer, Olympic champion and four-time medallist Florent Manaudou, captain of the Olympic Torch Relay, who took the Olympic Torch out of its case.
The statement says that Manaudou passed the baton to Nantenin Keita, Paralympic champion and four-time medallist in the 100m, 200m and 400m.
It says that, as in Athens, where French Olympic and Paralympic champions Gabriella Papadakis and Béatrice Hess passed the torch, Paris 2024 has chosen two Olympic and Paralympic athletes to carry the Flame to Marseille. This first handover on French soil symbolises Paris 2024’s ambition to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games closer together.
It goes on to say that Nantenin Keita handed the Torch to the singer JuL, a youth ambassador, who lit the cauldron on the central stage of the Old Port. Paris 2024 has chosen an iconic ambassador from Marseille to represent the youth, energy and festive spirit that characterise the Olympic Torch Relay.
Tony Estanguet
“I wanted the Flame to be welcomed to Marseille by emblematic personalities who embody what we are going to honour and celebrate through the Relay: Florent Manaudou, an iconic athlete of his generation; the first Relay in France to be handed over to Paralympic athlete Nantenin Keita, to symbolise our ambition to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games closer together, and JuL, an emblematic figure from Marseille, a popular artist who has racked up a string of records and embodies the festive spirit of the Relay,” says Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024.
The arrival of the torch was greeted with an array of festivities and artistic performances in the colours of Marseille, followed by a pyrotechnic show with hundreds of drones, says the statement.
After departing from the port of Piraeus in Greece on 27 April, the Flame appeared in the morning of May 8 with three Angels of the Flame on board and 16 committed forerunners aged 17 to 25, who experienced a unique 12-day crossing of the Mediterranean Sea.
It says that the flame was welcomed with a succession of festivities, workshops and performances, nautical workshops, with 526 additional boats: jousts, light sails, old riggings, traditional oars, barquettes marseillaises, rowing, kayaking, canoeing, an artistic performance with 37 dancers from La Horde, the Marseille ballet, and the Compagnie Grenade, immersed in the setting of the Château d’If. The show continued in the air by the Patrouille de France, who not only flew around but also drew the Olympic rings in the sky.
What followed was the launch of the official musical theme of Paris 2024, an original soundtrack composed by Victor Le Masne, Director of Music for the Ceremonies and composer of the Paris 2024 musical theme, which will accompany the Games from the Olympic Torch Relay to the celebration and competition venues.
The statement adds that Coca-Cola rounded off the day with a free concert by Soprano and Alonzo on a floating stage.
The statement adds that today, the Flame passes through the most emblematic places in the city of Marseille, from Notre-Dame de la Garde to the Stade Vélodrome.
The first team of torchbearers today will be Olympique de Marseille, including two of Marseille’s most iconic footballers, Basile Boli and Didier Drogba, alongside other footballers Eric Di Meco, Jean-Pierre Papin and Valentin Rongier, as well as the 82-year-old torchbearer Colette Cataldo, one of OM’s oldest supporters, and Louisa Necib, a French international footballer from Marseille who played for Olympique Lyonnais.
The organisers say that alongside these Marseillais by birth and adoption, a number of well-known sportsmen and women will also be relaying the Flame, including international basketball players Tony Parker and Nando de Colo, with well-known public figures.
