In a significant moment leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Olympic flame was officially handed over to the Paris Games organizers.
This traditional ceremony took place at the historic Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, where the first modern Olympics were hosted in 1896. The event marks a pivotal prelude to the Games, bridging the ancient roots of the Olympics with its contemporary celebrations.
The ceremony featured the flame entering the stadium, carried by notable athletes including Greek Olympian Antigoni Ntrismpioti. It was then passed among several distinguished sports figures: Gabriella Papadakis, a French Olympic figure skating champion of Greek descent; Béatrice Hess, a French Paralympic swimming champion; and Ioannis Fountoulis, a Greek Olympic silver medalist in water polo.
In a moment filled with tradition, the high priestess lit the cauldron in the Panathenaic Stadium with the flame, and handed the final torch over to Spyros Capralos, President of the Greek Olympic Committee.
The flame’s journey did not end in Athens. Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet received the torch from Capralos, concluding its 11-day journey across Greece. The next leg of the flame’s odyssey involves a 12-day maritime voyage across the Mediterranean Sea.
It will travel aboard a 19th-century sailing ship, bound for Marseille. The flame is expected to arrive on May 8 at the Old Port of Marseille, where approximately 150,000 spectators will gather for a welcoming ceremony.
This year’s Olympic Games are scheduled to run from July 26 to August 11 in Paris. The journey of the Olympic flame not only symbolizes peace and unity among nations but also ignites excitement and anticipation for the upcoming global event, promising a spectacular celebration of sportsmanship and international camaraderie.
