The planet turns its gaze to Greece and specifically to Ancient Olympia, where, almost 100 days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame will be lit, before an enormous journey that will take it from the Acropolis to Paris, passing and from French Polynesia.

After two events that lost their great “shine” due to the restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, namely the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 and the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, the traditional ceremony at the cradle of Olympism will find all its colors again with an official audience.

At 11:30 in the presence of Katerina Sakellaropoulou

The Ceremony of Touching the Olympic Flame is scheduled tomorrow for 11.30 (16/4), in the presence of the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the mayor of Paris, Ann Hidalgo, the head of the Organizing Committee (Cojo) Toni Estange, of Greek origin – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Chrysoula Zacharopoulos, and the leadership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), led by its president, Thomas Bach, who will be welcomed by the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), Spyros Kapralos.

The President of the Olympic Torch Relay Committee, Thanasis Vassiliadis, is responsible for the Touching Ceremony, and Giannis Papadimitriou is the Master of Ceremonies.

In the sanctuary of Olympia, in front of the ruins of the 2,600-year-old temple of Hera, Prothea Mary Mina will light the Flame from the rays of the sun in the Temple of Hera, in front of 600 guests.

The Olympic Anthem will be performed by leading mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.

The Official Rehearsal

The Official Rehearsal of the Touching Ceremony of the Olympic Flame was completed (15/4) with complete success in Ancient Olympia. The rehearsal, as always, took place in the presence of an audience.

This was followed by the Dance of the Priests and the 15 Kuros in the choreography created and directed by the Choreographer Artemis Ignatiou, with costumes by Mary Katrantzou, to the sounds of the music of the composer Dimitris Papadimitriou.

The sanctuary of Ancient Olympia

The entire sanctuary of Ancient Olympia, ravaged throughout history by earthquakes and floods, was dedicated to Zeus and the Games were meant to pay tribute to him.

At the site, a statue of the “god of gods”, which has now disappeared, was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

As every two years, the ceremony takes place near the stadium where ancient athletes competed in their first Games in the 8th century BC.

At that time, women were prohibited from participating and this remained until the abolition of the ancient Games in 393 AD.

From Dusko to Manondou and Margaritis Schina

The weather forecast calls for clouds on Tuesday in this western region of the Peloponnese peninsula, but even in case of unsettled skies or – worse – rain, all is planned for Touch of Flame.

The Prothieria, Greek actress Mary Mina, will then pass the torch to the first torchbearer, Stefanos Dusko, Olympic rowing champion at the Tokyo Olympics.

The French swimmer, Laure Manoudou, who won her first Olympic title in the 400m freestyle, at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, will succeed him and thus be the first French Torchbearer, as announced (15/4) by the Hellenic Olympic Commission, while the third torchbearer will be the European Commissioner, Margaritis Schoinas.

The journey of the Olympic Flame

The flame will then begin a 5,000km journey across Greece over 11 days, from the island of Corfu, in the Ionian Sea, to Santorini in the Cyclades and, via Kastellorizo, in the south-east of the country.

He will also climb the Acropolis rock, to spend a night near the Parthenon.

The Flame will then be handed over to the French organizers on April 26 at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

The Flame will spend the night at the French Embassy and then depart the next day (27/4) for France.

In Piraeus, the major port south of Athens, the Flame will board the “Belem”, a historic 127-year-old three-masted sailing ship of the French merchant navy, with square sails and a steel hull, dating from the 19th century and still in service today, for to land, on May 8, at Marseilles, in southeastern France.

The Olympic Flame, the symbol of the Olympic Games, will cross Marseille from Notre-Dame de la Garde, the Basilica that overlooks Marseille and is the most famous symbol of the city, to the Velodrome stadium on Thursday, May 9, following her arrival in the French city.

After completing its presence in Marseille at 20:30 on the same day, the symbol of the Olympic Games will then begin its journey and cross the whole of France, also passing through the Antilles and French Polynesia, to reach Paris for the opening ceremony on July 26.

The Olympic Flame will remain at Paris City Hall on the evening of July 14, when France celebrates Bastille Day ahead of the 2024 Olympics, Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced.

The Olympic Flame will “travel” across Paris on July 14-15, then the greater French capital region and return to the capital for the opening ceremony on July 26, completing a 68-day torch relay in the host country of the Games.

Throughout its journey, it will be carried by approximately 10,000 torchbearers.

The Olympic Flame that burned throughout the Games in ancient times represented the ideals of peace and unity among peoples.

Macron started the countdown

THE French President, Emmanuel Macronbegan the countdown to the Olympics on Monday in Paris, raising concerns about security around the opening ceremony on the Seine, while raising “the Trocadero” or “Stade de France” as alternatives in the event of a terrorist threat.

The program of the Touching Ceremony:

11:00

Official attendance pass

Presidential Guard Entrance

Arrival of S.A. of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou

11:30

Opening Ceremony

Formation of Olympic circles by students of the Municipality of Ancient Olympia

Olympic Anthem – Hoisting of the Olympic Flag (Olympic Anthem performed by Mezzo – Soprano Joyce DiDonato)

National Anthem of France – Hoisting of the French Flag

National Anthem of Greece – Raising the Flag of Greece (The National Anthems are performed by the children’s choir of Saint-Paul & Pedagogical Schools – Birds)

Greetings from the mayor of Ancient Olympia, Mr. Aristidis Panagiotopoulos

Greeting from the President of the Organizing Committee of the “Paris 2024” Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mr. Tony Estanguet

Greetings from the president of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Thomas Bach

Greetings from the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, President of the European Olympic Committees and Member of the International Olympic Committee, Mr. Spyros Kapralos

Official entrance to the Temple of Hera

Ritual of Touching the Olympic Flame in the Temple of Hera

Choreography of Priests and Churches (The recording of the music of the composer Dimitris Papadimitriou, was performed on ERT by the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michalis Oikonomou, Interpretation: Treble player Myrsini Margaritis)

Entrance of Primate Mary Minas with the Olympic Flame in the Ancient Stadium

Handover of the Olympic Flame from the Protea to the first Torchbearer, Rowing Olympic Gold Medalist, Stefanos Dusko

Departure of the first Torch Relay for the Pierre de Coubertin Monument

12:30 p.m

Start of the Olympic Torch Relay

Withdrawal of S.A. of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou

After the event