MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Tens of thousands of people welcomed the Olympic torch Wednesday in the southern French city of Marseille, marking another milestone in the lead-up to the Summer Games in Paris.
French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the first torch carrier in France after the Olympic flame arrived in Marseille’s Old Port on a majestic three-mast ship from Greece for the welcoming ceremony amid tight security.
The ship docked on a pontoon resembling an athletics track and Manaudou carried the torch to mainland France.
“Tonight, the people of Marseille won the first gold medal of these Olympic Games,” Payan said, beaming with pride.
Paris 2024 Olympics Organizing Committee President Tony Estanguet said the return of the Olympic Games to France was cause for a “fantastic celebration.” “As a former athlete, I know how important the start of a competition is.
Safety of visitors and residents has been a top priority for authorities in Marseille, France’s second largest city with nearly a million inhabitants.
AP AUDIO: A ship carrying the Olympic torch arrives in Marseille amid fanfare and high security AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports the French port city of Marseilles is hosting the arrival of the Olympic torch.
The Olympic cauldron will be lit after the Games’ opening ceremony that will take place on the River Seine on July 26.
MARSEILLE, France (AP) — In Marseille, in southern France, tens of thousands of people welcomed the Olympic torch on Wednesday, signaling the completion of a significant milestone in the run-up to the Summer Games in Paris.
Following the Olympic flame’s arrival in Marseille’s Old Port on a magnificent three-mast ship from Greece for the welcoming ceremony under strict security, French Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou became the country’s first torch bearer.
With the French national anthem “La Marseillaise” resonating from the embankment and a French Air Force flyover featuring planes that first sketched the five Olympic rings and then the red, blue, and white colors of the country’s flag, the ship sailed into Marseille’s historic port.
When the ship came to a stop near an athletics track, Manaudou took the torch to the French mainland. Tens of thousands cheered on the shore, while thousands more waved from balconies and windows. He gave it to French Paralympic sprinter Nantenin Keïta, who won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, to be carried to rapper Jul, a Marseille native.
Speaking at the ceremony to welcome the torch, President Emmanuel Macron said, “We can be proud.”.
“French soil is where the flame is,” Macron declared. The French people’s lives are about to be invaded by video games. “.
Over 230,000 people attended the ceremony on Wednesday, according to Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan.
With a proud smile, Payan remarked, “Tonight, the people of Marseille won the first gold medal of these Olympics.”.
Prior to being formally given to France, the torch was lit in Greece last month. It set out from Athens on board the Belem, a ship that was used for the first time in 1896, and sailed for twelve days.
President of the Paris 2024 Olympics Organizing Committee Tony Estanguet declared that there should be a “fantastic celebration” over the return of the Olympic Games to France. “.
“I understand the significance of a competition’s beginning as a former athlete. We picked Marseille for this reason, as it is undoubtedly one of the sports-maddest cities,” continued Estanguet, a former Olympic canoeist who won gold in the 2000, 2004 and 2012 Games.
Officials in Marseille, the second-biggest city in France with close to a million residents, have made visitor and local safety their top priority. There are roughly 8,000 police officers stationed near the harbor.
Along with maritime police, anti-drone teams, and thousands of firefighters, bomb disposal squads, and other law enforcement personnel have been stationed throughout the city to patrol its airspace and waters.
Marseille’s deputy mayor, Yannick Ohanessian, said, “It’s a historic day and we have been working hard for visitors and residents to enjoy this historic moment.”.
Starting on Thursday in Marseille, the torch relay will travel across the nation’s most famous locations, including the Versailles Palace, the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy, and the well-known Mont Saint-Michel, before arriving in Paris.
A military helicopter circled over the Old Port, where a number of barriers have been erected, as a large police and military presence was observed patrolling Marseille’s downtown on Tuesday.
According to Camille Chaize, a spokesman for the French Interior Ministry, authorities were ready for any security risks, including terrorism.
AP Audio: There is a lot of excitement and tight security when a ship bearing the Olympic torch docks in Marseille.
This is Marseilles, a port city in France, where the Olympic torch is arriving, according to AP correspondent Charles de Ledesma.
The elite National Gendarmerie Intervention Group unit will be present throughout the entire torch relay. “We’re employing various measures,” she said.
On July 26, following the Games’ opening ceremony on the Seine River, the Olympic cauldron will be lit.
On the day of the event, the location of the cauldron’s lighting in Paris will remain a strictly secret. Eiffel Tower and the Tuileries Gardens outside the Louvre Museum are two famous locations that have been mentioned as possibilities.
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