Nice place for a discovery. Solemn and full of history. The OCOG Paris 2024 has chosen the Sorbonne, in the Latin Quarter, to unveil the route of the Olympic torch relay this Friday, June 23. A way of keeping one foot in the past, despite an endlessly repeated desire to “ break the codes ».
For the most part, the main dates were already known. A lighting of the torch on April 16 in Olympia, cradle of the ancient Games. Then nine days of a walk in Greece, before a transmission ceremony on April 26 at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium in Athens. The next day, board the Belem, the historic three-masted ship on loan from the Caisse d’Epargne. Arrival on May 8 in Marseille, departure city of the relay and site of the Olympic sailing events.
The numbers, too, had already been stripped of the “ confidential ». Ten thousand torchbearers, renamed “ scouts » for an unclear reason, other than the obsession of Parisian organizers to never do like the others. Among them, almost a third (3) will trot as a team, for relays of 000 runners. Around 24 meters per section, or 200 minutes of a supposedly unforgettable slice of life.
The main thing remained: the route. First lesson of the day, it is strictly French. The OCOG abandoned – or never retained – the idea mentioned for a moment of taking a detour to Italy, host country of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games.
Franco-French, therefore, but not totally hexagonal. The Olympic flame will take the route of the islands, for stages overseas, towards Polynesia, Martinique, Reunion, Guadeloupe and Guyana.
The route will cross 64 territories, between the departure on May 8 in Marseille and the final arrival on July 26 in Paris. In total, 68 actual days of wandering, the COJO having planned a few days of rest here and there, like the Tour de France cyclist.
Sixty-five stopover towns were selected, mainly the largest population areas. But more than 400 French cities will be visited. Each evening, the flame will burn in a different place, in an urban environment in most cases. But the OCOG has reserved a handful of exceptions for these overnight stays in the city, to lay down the torch in so-called exceptional sites. Mont-Saint-Michel, for example.
The resting of the flame at the end of the day will be accompanied by a celebration sequence. At the helm, the two sponsors of the relay, the BPCE banking group and Coca-Cola. Eight concerts are planned during the trip.
In detail, the flame will remain in mainland France from May 8 to June 7. She will then take a second boat, the maxi Banque Populaire, much more modern and faster than the Belem, to reach overseas. At the helm, the usual skipper, Armel Le Cléac’h. At his side, a crew of which each member will have been carefully selected for their record of service, and their relationship with the Olympic Games. Jean Galfione, gold medalist in the pole vault at the Atlanta Games in 1996, who became a professional sailor, seems essential.
The following ? Return on June 18 to France, to Nice. Five days later, stop in Haute-Savoie to celebrate Olympic Day in Chamonix, host city of the Winter Games in 1924. Arrival in Ile-de-France on July 14, the French National Day. Then, after two days outside the Paris region, in Oise and Aisne, a long final sprint in Ile-de-France, between July 19 and 26.
In more than two months, the flame will not only cross the 64 territories having each paid 150.000 euros excluding tax to appear on the map (the overall sum provides a third of a budget estimated at 30 million euros). It will successfully mix genres between the history of France, its culture, its historical and cultural heritage.
Examples ? The castles of the Loire, the medieval city of Carcassonne, the Châteaux of Versailles for the historical aspect, the vineyards of Bordeaux for the gastronomy, Mont Blanc and the Pic du Midi for the natural varnish, the Palais des Festivals de Cannes for the glamour, the Louvre-Lens for culture, the Kourou space base, in Guyana, for reference to cutting-edge industry.
Anecdotal but cautious: the flame will be accompanied in all circumstances by a discreet battalion of around ten people responsible for its protection. “ They will make sure it never goes out and will sleep with it.”, specified the COJO. The keepers of the flame.
