2024-04-06 18:10:10
A huge nautical parade, which could reach a thousand boats, will accompany the arrival of the Olympic torch on May 8 in France, along the coastline of the city of Marseille, the Mediterranean maritime prefecture announced this Monday.
Boats wishing to participate in this event, which will last five hours, must register, free of charge, on the Olympic flame route page, up to 15 days before their arrival, with a limit of 1,024 places available.
«The objective is for this event to be festive, with many people in the water to accompany the parade. But the priority is safety,” explained Vice Admiral Gilles Boidevezi, maritime prefect of the Mediterranean, recalling that two people died when a boat capsized at the arrival of the ‘Route du Rhum’ in 2022.
The boats participating in the Olympic parade must meet some criteria: semi-rigid boats must have a maximum power of 250 horsepower, like motor boats, with a maximum size of 24 meters long.
The sailboats will not be able to exceed 41 meters, without being able to overshadow the most majestic of the day, the three-masted Belem (58 meters), built in Nantes in 1896, which will transport the torch from its departure from Athens on April 26.
Starting on May 8, the torch will begin an 80-day journey through France, until the opening of the Paris Games on July 26. The Olympic event will conclude on August 11.
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© Agence France-Presse