s southern port of Marseille on Thursday to see torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame through the city’s most emblematic sites, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony.
It was the first leg of an 11-week journey across the country for the torch, which will be carried by about 10,000 bearers as it passes through more than 450 towns until the Olympics Games opening ceremony in Paris on July 26.
Former soccer player Basile Boli, who played with the Marseille team in the 1990s, kicked off Thursday’s relay from the Notre Dame de la Garde basilica that overlooks Marseille and the Mediterranean.
I’m very proud,” Boli said.
“You feel like you’re on top of the world, because with an Olympic flame there’s a special fervour. … It’s the symbol of sport.”
Basketball player Tony Parker later took his turn in the relay, praising “a great honour.” On a nearby crowded beach, swimmers and sunbathers cheered the torch bearers as the flame passed.
Magali Evrard, who came from the town of Martigues, in Marseille’s region, said “it’s been so long since we started talking about this and now we’re in it.
“We are on the road to Paris. We can’t wait, it’s great,” she added.
A fencing champion, a skateboarder, a Michelin-starred chef and a comedian were also chosen to carry the flame on Thursday.
“Let’s go for a fantastic celebration,” said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organising committee.
“The Games are back in our country. … Let’s share this fantastic moment of celebration with millions of people in the country.”
