The Torch Relay is a key moment that has everyone buzzing with anticipation, says Tony Estanguet
The organising committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games has unveiled the final route of the Olympic Torch Relay for its six-week tour of France next year.
At a heavily attended press conference today in Paris, the organisers said that before the Torch reaches the French territory, it is counting on its four “captains” to thrust the energy of sport onto the streets of France and to welcome the celebrations ahead of the Games.
The organisers of Paris 2024 unveiled the first 165 venues, comprising the 65 celebration sites and the 100 iconic places where the Olympic Flame will be greeted in addition to the 64 participating territories in the Relay. The remaining towns, cities, and locations that the Olympic Flame will visit will be announced by the Relay’s participating territories starting today and during the coming weeks, the press was told.
It will start in Olympia in Greece, as is the tradition, on April 16, 2024 with the arrival of the Olympic flame in Marseille on May 8 from Athens, Greece, after travelling by sea onboard the full-rigged ship Belem.
The organisers say that the Paris 2024 Torch Relay will be a collective odyssey involving a vast constellation of Paris 2024 stakeholders and partners, including the Torch Relay Official Sponsors, public organisations involved in Paris 2024 and the sporting movement. It will also include 64 regions and territories that will roll out the red carpet for the Torch in each stage of the Relay, both in mainland France and in Overseas French territories.
“The Torch Relay is a key moment that has everyone buzzing with anticipation. It marks the start of the celebrations and offers a wonderful preview of each new edition of the Games. At Paris 2024, where the festivities will be continuous for more than two months, we are set to embark on an incredible adventure together, one that will span our entire country and rally millions of French people around the Games,” Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, told the packed press conference.
Following the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Albertville in 1992 and the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble in 1968, France will host the Olympic torch for the third time in 2024.
The organisers say that Laure Manaudou, who is an Olympic 400m freestyle champion, silver medallist in the 800m freestyle and bronze medallist in the 100m backstroke at the Olympic Games Athens 2004, and Florent Manaudou, an Olympic 50m freestyle champion at the Olympic Games London 2012, two-time silver medallist in the 4x100m and 50m freestyle at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, and silver medallist in the 50m freestyle at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, will be among the four captains.
European paratriathlon 2022 (PTWC) champion Mona Francis and Dimitri Pavadé long jump T64 silver medallist at the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 champion Dimitri Pavadé will serve as the other two captains and lead the charge of the Paris 2024 Torch Relay Forerunners, bringing the energies of sport and the Games to life across France until the climax of July 26, when the Olympic Games opening ceremony is to be held on the Seine River in Paris.
One of the most spectacular events of the Relay for French sport will be the passing of the Torch between the siblings of the swimming champion. All of the torchbearers will share the essence that they were all chosen for inspirational life stories that matched at least one of the three energies of the Paris 2024 Torch Relay.
The organisers say that the first energy will relate to the energy of the sport, at the heart of the identity of the Relay. Future torchbearers could be athletes or volunteers from clubs, amateur sportspeople, those involved in the Games, etc.
The second energy is that of the regions, engendered through entrepreneurs, innovators and those who create and represent French excellence in all sectors of activity.
The third energy is of the community and will be reflected through those who are committed every day to building a society that is more unified, more inclusive, more sustainable and fairer, adds the organisers of the mega event.
Additionally, it adds that the Torch Relay family now includes four famous people. The three energies of the Relay, the energy of sport, the energy of the regions, and the energy of the collective, are each represented by one of these initial ambassadors in a unique way. They will carry the Torch and share in this joyful occasion with the French people after being chosen for their inspiring careers, engagement, and capacity to evoke emotion.
The organisers say that among those others present in the Torch Relay will be actor Jamel Debbouze, Dr Marine Lorphelin, Thierry Marx, representing French gastronomy’s finesse and innovation and France’s most experienced astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
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