The flame to be burning at the Paris Olympics was lit on Tuesday at the site of ancient games in southern Greece, AP News reported.
From the ancient stadium in Olympia, a torch relay will carry the flame along a 5,000-kilometre (3,100-mile) route through Greece, including several islands, before handing it over to organisers of the Paris Games in Athens on April 26.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach stated that the flame lighting combined “a pilgrimage to our past in ancient Olympia, and an act of faith in our future.”
In these difficult times (…) with wars and conflicts on the rise, people are fed up with all the hate, the aggression and negative news (…) We are longing for something which brings us together; something that is unifying; something that gives us hope.
Greek authorities maintained tight security around Olympia on Tuesday after protests by human rights activists disrupted the lighting ceremonies for the Beijing Summer and Winter Games. Armed police stopped approaching cars and checked for explosives, while service dogs combed the area.
The first torchbearer was Greek rower Stefanos Douskos, a gold medallist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The next runner was Laure Manaudou, a French swimmer who won three medals in Athens in 2004. She gave way to senior European Union official Margaritis Schinas, a Greek.
The IOC’s Bach praised the Paris organisers for “an outstanding job” in preparing for the Games, which would take place from July 26 to August 11. He also emphasised their environmental impact, stating that the cleansing efforts would allow swimming in the River Seine, which traversed Paris, “for the first time in a hundred years.”
However, the heads of two sports federations criticised athletics leader Sebastian Coe for breaking Olympic tradition last week by promising prize money of $50,000 to each of their gold medallists in Paris. The money will be paid out of the IOC’s share of Olympic revenues distributed to Olympic sport’s governing bodies.
International Cycling Union President David Lappartient claimed Coe did not consult with other sport officials before announcing his decision.
We really believe that that’s not the Olympic spirit. If we concentrate the money (…) on only top athletes, only gold, then of course a lot of opportunities will disappear for athletes all over the world.
Many expected Coe to run for IOC presidency, scheduled to become vacant in 2025. Lappartient is close to Bach and is increasingly seen as a potential successor.
From Greece, the Olympic flame will depart the Athens port of Piraeus on the Belem, a French three-masted sailing ship built in 1896, the year of the first modern games in Athens. The Belem arrived in Katakolo, near Olympia, on Monday.
