The decor changes but the names remain. Less than 23 months before the opening (D – 681 days this Wednesday, September 14), the OCOG Paris 2024 opened its file to the media “ Torch Relay“. With an announcement that feels like déjà vu: Coca-Cola will be one of the official sponsors.
The American giant, associated with the Olympic Games for 96 years, is accustomed to the slow procession of the torch in the host country. He has accompanied her all over the world for more than a quarter of a century. For the Tokyo 2020 Games, where the flame journey took place without a single spectator, Coca-Cola teamed up with another global partner of the IOC, the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota.
For Paris 2024, the American group will therefore hit the road again. A first sponsor of the relay had already been known since the end of July: the French banking group BPCE (Banque Populaire – Caisse d'Epargne), also a first-tier (premium) sponsor of the OCOG. A third relay partner should be presented before the end of the year.
Taking up a now familiar refrain, Coca-Cola has announced its desire to take advantage of the next Olympic and Paralympic meeting to further accelerate the pace on the path to sustainability and respect for the environment.
Eric Desbonnets, the vice-president in charge of engagement and the Olympic Games, explained on Tuesday September 13 that the event would help accelerate “ the transformation of its distribution model“. During the Games, cans will be banned, glass bottles returnable, cups reused, plastic bottles recycled. New: consumers will be able to help themselves to drinks fountains.
Another priority: inclusion. As sponsor of the relay, Coca-Cola will be able to choose a thousand torch bearers. A habit. But, this time, the Atlanta-based group will mainly select them from young people from disadvantaged neighborhoods, introduced to sports within an association supported by the brand, Sports in the city.
One question remains: the route. At this stage of the project, it still remains quite vague. The COJO wanted an XXL version, passing through all French departments, but the refusal of certain elected officials to pay the lump sum of 150.000 euros forced it to review its copy.
Delphine Moulin, in charge of the torch relay at the COJO, explained on Tuesday September 13 that the flame would cross at least “ sixty departments " French. She will also make a trip overseas, notably to Tahiti, site of the Olympic surfing events. But the idea of an incursion abroad would have been abandoned.
The final figure for the number of departments crossed should be known by November. And, with it, an estimate of the total cost of the operation, expected to mobilize 200 to 300 people. According to L'Equipe, each day of the torch relay will cost 450.000 euros, a third of which is financed by the territories visited. The relay should last between 70 and 80 days. It will be broadcast in around 700 cities. Estimated total budget: 30 to 35 million euros.
The route will be known in mid-2023. At the same time, the OCOG will unveil the design of the torch. The relay should begin in spring 2024, ending in the heart of Paris on Friday July 26, the day of the opening ceremony. No less than 12.000 runners will pass the torch to each other during a relay. Solo, as a couple or as a team.
