ATHENS (Reuters) – The Paris 2024 Olympic torch set sail for France aboard a three-masted ship on Saturday, marking the final sprint of preparations for the Olympic opening ceremony on July 26.
The Belém will leave the port of Piraeus in the morning for an 11-day voyage, arriving on May 8 in Marseille, a city in the south founded by Greek settlers Phocaea around 600 BC.
Organizers of the Paris Games received the torch on Friday in a ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. The 11-day Greek Relay kicked off last week with the lighting of a fire at ancient Olympia.
war in Israel and Gaza
After a brief ceremony in Piraeus on Saturday, the ship set sail for France.
An estimated 150,000 spectators are expected to attend the ceremony in the Old Port of Marseille, where the Olympic sailing competitions will be held and the start of a 68-day torch relay across France.
Marseille's last torch bearer will climb onto the roof of the Vélodrome stadium on May 9, and the relay will conclude with the lighting of the cauldron during the opening ceremony along the Seine in Paris on July 26.
Photos to see – April 2024
Latest photos from Ukraine
Organizers hope the opening ceremony will provide a spectacular spectacle as 160 boats carrying athletes from around the world navigate a six-kilometre route to the Eiffel Tower.
Around 300,000 spectators will watch from banks as the tournament is being held against the backdrop of war in Ukraine and Gaza, with domestic security forces on high alert.
The French government has asked around 45 foreign countries to donate thousands of additional military, police and civilian personnel to help secure the Paris Olympics.
(Reporting by Carolus Grauman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.
