The countdown to the 2024 Olympics has officially begun.
On April 16th, participants gathered in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, and the ceremony began with the traditional lighting of the Olympic torch.
Actress Mary Mina played the role of the High Priestess during the ceremony, asking Apollo, the Greek sun god, for help in lighting the torch. Accompanied by several other priestesses and dancers dressed in traditional costumes, the Olympic torch was lit and carried to the ancient stadium where the first recorded Olympic Games were held.
Typically, the ceremony uses sunlight and a mirror to light the torch, but as NBC News reported, this time a pre-lit torch was used due to cloudy skies.
The torch was then handed over by the Pope to the torch bearers, who began their long journey of more than 3,000 miles to Paris on July 26 for the opening of the 2024 Olympics.
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The tradition of lighting the torch and handing it out on the way to that year's competition venue began at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and is thought to be the work of Karl Diem, a member of the Olympic organizing committee. For nearly a century since those Games, the torch has been lit in ceremonies honoring the roots of the Olympics and delivered across borders to the host country.
The torch will travel to France via France's oldest three-masted schooner, built in 1896, before landing in Marseille on the southern coast. From there, it will travel across the country, making more than 65 stops before reaching its final destinations of Seine-Saint-Denis and Paris on July 26th.
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In his speech at the opening of the ceremony, Ancient Olympia's mayor, Aristides Panagiotopoulos, reflected on the “message of peace and reconciliation between peoples” that the Olympics represent.
Mr. Panagiotopoulos acknowledged that Olympia is the birthplace of the “Olympic Idea,” which he said is “not limited to sports, but gives meaning and content to the ideal of human worth.” Stated.
“This is the greatest contribution of the Greeks: the transition from myth to historical truth and reality. People did not choose their place at random. “We have an obligation to continue to be gatekeepers of ideals.'' The Olympic spirit. ”
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According to the official Olympic website, the torch will arrive in Marseille on May 8 with a large flotilla of 1,029 ships escorting it to Marseille's Old Port. More than 10,000 torchbearers will head to the capital, and swimming gold medalist Laure Manadou said, “It's an honor to be the first torchbearer in France.''
Paris 2024 president Tony Estangue, himself a gold medalist, added in a statement: In the modern Olympics, we maintain a very strong and special connection to Olympism. ”
“Following the first women taking part in the Paris Games of 1900 and the establishment of the first Olympic Village at the Paris Games of 1924, we are proud to announce that with the third Games in Paris, France, we are making a new addition to the great history of the Olympic Games. Ready to write a chapter.”
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The Paris Games are scheduled to be held from July 26th to August 11th, and the Paralympic Games are scheduled to be held from August 28th to September 8th.
