Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay: 5 Grand Aspects
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24 July 2024 21:11 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will open on the banks of the Seine this Friday, July 26. More than 10,000 athletes are expected to compete in 329 games for 329 gold medals in 32 sports.
The Olympic torch relay began on May 8, 2024, in Marseille, southern France. The following are five aspects of grandeur in the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay.
- Attended by some 600 officials
As quoted by Antara, the opening of the 2024 Olympic torch relay in Paris was attended by some 600 officials, led by Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach. Actresses portraying ancient priestesses lit the Olympic flame with the help of a polished parabolic mirror in Olympia, southwestern Greece, where the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC. The opening took place at the ruins of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera and marked the countdown to the Olympic Games. The torch harkens back to the ancient Olympics, when the sacred fire burned throughout the games.
- Journey across France
Quoted from the Olympics website, The Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay will traverse all parts of France for three months starting in April. The torch will pass through multiple regions and at least one overseas region. The torch relay will also provide a unique opportunity to highlight the French provinces, their cultural heritage and their savoir-faire. The torch relay also seeks to celebrate the role of sport in society. Sports clubs will be involved in the group relay. The city, which has been named "Terre de Jeux 2024", is also committed to promoting the role of sport in people's lives.
- A showcase of history and heritage
The Paris Olympic torch relay will pass through many historic architectural masterpieces, such as the Napoleonic town of La Roche-sur-Yon: The Grand Place of Arras, surrounded by magnificent Baroque and Flemish facades. The torch will pass through the cathedral districts of Limoges and Chartres and Strasbourg, often dubbed the "capital of Europe". The torch will end its journey in the center of Paris, making sure to showcase the rich history of the City of Lights, including the corridors of the Nation-République-Bastille-Hôtel de Ville, the Invalides and the Manufacture des Gobelins. As a tribute to French history, a flame will be lit in the capital on August 25 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Paris during World War II.
- Transatlantic
The Olympic flame will travel through six French overseas territories in four corners of the world, crossing three of the planet's five oceans. The flame will first travel to French Guiana in the Atlantic Ocean (June 9, 2024), New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean (June 11), Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean (June 12), French Polynesia (June 13), Guadeloupe (June 15) and finally Martinique in the Atlantic Ocean (June 17). This relay across the ocean will begin with extraordinary events, one of which is the crossing of the Atlantic on board the Maxi Banque Populaire XI sailing to Pointe-à-Pitre.
- 19th Century Ship
On April 27, the torch began its journey to France on a 19th-century ship launched just weeks after the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens. Ten thousand torchbearers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will then carry the flame through France's 64 regions. The torch will pass through 400 cities and dozens of tourist attractions on its 12,000-kilometer journey through mainland France and French overseas territories in the Caribbean, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
KHUMAR MAHENDRA | ANTARA | ISTIQOMATUL HAYATI | OLYMPICS
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