2024-05-08 04:04:14
The torch, which arrives on Wednesday May 8 in Marseille, will travel 12,000 km throughout the national territory, in France and overseas, giving pride of place to French heritage.
Published on 08/05/2024 06:04
Updated on 08/05/2024 07:06
Reading time: 3 min
The Olympic flame will travel through 64 French departments between May 8 and July 26, before the lighting of the cauldron in the Tuileries garden for the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (HELOÏSE KROB / FRANCEINFO)
Stages as eagerly awaited as those of the Tour de France. Sixty-four departments will see the relay of the Olympic flame pass, which arrives on French soil on Wednesday May 8 in Marseille after a ten-day journey from Greece aboard the sailboat White. The kick-off of a 79-day marathon until the start of the Paris Games on July 26, and the lighting of the flame in the Tuileries garden by a final torchbearer whose identity is the subject of all speculations.
One of the major axes of the route aims to highlight French heritage, with passages in emblematic historical sites: the Lascaux cave (Dordogne), Mont-Saint-Michel (Manche), the D-Day beaches (several departments of Normandy), the Verdun Memorial (Meuse), the archaeological site of Alésia (Côte-d’Or), the ramparts of Carcassonne (Aude) and the Château de Versailles (Yvelines) in the home stretch. The natural sites are not left out, with a passage in the Mont-Blanc valley (Haute-Savoie), at the Pic du Midi or even in the Verdon gorges.
To emphasize the country’s riches, gastronomy will also be in the spotlight, with a trip to the most famous vineyards (Saint-Emilion, Chablis, Coteaux du Layon…), as will culture ( the Louvre-Lens, the Angoulême comic book museum, the Palais des Festivals in Cannes) and of course sport (Roland-Garros, the Stade de France, the Stade Vélodrome or Geoffroy-Guichard’s “cauldron” in Saint -Etienne). On the other hand, the only two other French cities which have hosted (winter) Games, Grenoble and Albertville, are not affected by this torch relay.
The Olympic flame arrives on French soil on May 8 in Marseille. His journey in France and the overseas territories will last 79 days, until the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on July 26, 2024. (HELOÏSE KROB / FRANCEINFO)
The route will not be confined to France, with a long journey which will take the flame to overseas territories from June 9 to 17, as part of the Ocean Relay. Martinique and Guadeloupe will be visited by boat, aboard the monohull Maxi Banque Populaire Michalik…). The flame will also travel by plane to more distant overseas territories: New Caledonia, Guyana (notably to the Kourou space center) and French Polynesia, the scene of the surfing events during the fortnight of competition.
Ten key dates for the torch relay:
- 8 May : arrival in Marseille aboard the sailboat Whiteswimmer Florent Manaudou takes over on dry land
- May 14 : the flame travels to Corsica, including a stop in Bastia
- May 31 : passage to Mont-Saint-Michel during the Manche leg of the relay
- June 2 : passage in Deux-Sèvres, stage classified as high risk due to possible actions of environmental activists
- June 9 : arrival of the flame in Guyana, first stop of the tour in the overseas territories (until June 17)
- June 23 : ascent of the flame to Mont-Blanc
- June 26 : passage of the flame to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, a few days after the European elections
- July 14th : the flame will be present in Paris on the occasion of the national holiday
- July 23 : passage of the flame at the Palace of Versailles
- July 26 : final day of the torch relay, between Seine-Saint-Denis and the capital, before the lighting of the basin in the Tuileries gardens.
#view #route #Olympic #torch #relay #France #July