The torch of the Paris-2024 Summer Olympic Games has been lit.
Idman.biz reports that the symbol of the most prestigious multi-sport competition of the quadrennial was ignited by the sun's rays in ancient Olympia in Greece.
Less than 3.5 months before the opening of the Olympics, the torch will travel from the Acropolis to French Polynesia and be delivered to the opening ceremony in Paris on July 26. For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic, the event will be open to the public. The lighting of the torch in Tokyo-2020 and Beijing-2022 was organized indoors.
About 600 high-ranking representatives attended the ceremony. The delegation was led by the president of the Greek Olympic Committee, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and her colleague at the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach.
American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato sang the Olympic anthem during the torch lighting by Greek actress Mary Mina. The countdown to the start of the Olympic Games has begun with a ceremony at the temple of Gera.
Tokyo 2020 champion Stefanos Ntouskos was the first to carry the torch in the Olympic relay. The Greek was the Olympic champion in rowing in Japan. It is planned that the first torchbearer of France will be the champion swimmer of Athens-2004 Laure Manaudou.
The torch will travel in Greece for 11 days. During this period, 600 relaymen will run about 5000 km and carry it to 41 stations.
On April 26, the torch will be passed to the organizers of Paris-2024 at the Panathinaikos Stadium, where the first Olympic Games were held in 1896. From there, the Olympic symbol will be taken to Marseille by the sailing boat Belem and will travel 12,000 km and visit about 400 cities in France.
It should be noted that the opening ceremony of Paris-2024 will take place on July 26 at the Jardins du Trocadéro on the Seine River.
Idman.biz
