The torch was lit in Olympia, Greece, marking the start of the torch relay for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Before the Summer Olympics each year, the torch is lit at the ancient site where the Games were founded, connecting the event to its roots.
The torch will be carried to the host city by runners and other transportation. This year, the torch will be carried to Athens, then across the Mediterranean Sea on a three-masted sailing ship to Marseille, France. He will accompany the athletes on a tour of France and its islands before arriving in Paris for the Olympic opening ceremony on July 26.
The torch will be carried by boat to islands such as Martinique and French Polynesia. A complete list of stops can be found on the Olympic website, and the relay will be live-streamed. It will take 68 days to complete the 3,100-mile relay.
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The selection process to select the 10,000 athletes who will carry the torch began in June 2023.
The torch will not go out during the relay. New torches are designed for each Olympics and are specifically built to withstand adverse weather conditions. The flame is usually gas-fueled and can burn for longer than the time required by the relay. Let it sit overnight in a special cauldron.
On Tuesday, a special ceremony was held in Olympia, where the actress lit the sacred flame in the temple of the Greek goddess Hera.
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The ancient Olympics were held in Olympia from 776 BC to 393 AD, and the first modern Olympics began in Athens in 1896.
However, the iconic torch was not used until the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, and the first relay took place in 1936, ahead of the Berlin Olympics.
The relay has been held at every Summer Olympics since then, and the Olympic rulebook states that “the Olympic torch is the torch lit at Olympia under the authority of the IOC.”
Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou was chosen as the relay leader.
Manaudu said: “I can't believe I get to be captain. When you learn about the Olympics as a kid, you get to see not only the sports part, but also the Olympic torch, which is so symbolic.” “We are very happy to be able to show you all the amazing landscapes that France has to offer.”
