It was the big surprise of the official arrival ceremony of the Olympic and Paralympic flame in France. While the public waited for Zinédine Zidane in the Old Port, the “mystery” carrier was in reality the rapper Jul. A surprise which left a good number of French people speechless, but certainly not the Marseillais, who burst into flames at the arrival of the local star. Especially since it was he who lit the first Olympic cauldron, 80 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games.
The flame was lit at the ancient site of Olympia in Greece on April 16, then formally handed over by Greece to Tony Estanguet, president of the organizing committee, during a ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, ten days later. She then set sail towards Marseille aboard the three-masted Belem and therefore arrived safely eleven days later in the Old Port.
The rest after this ad
An arrival with fanfare: from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., bagpipes, sirens and horns resonated in the harbor of Marseille, where the Belem was escorted by more than 1,000 boats, as well as by the French patrol, which drew rings Olympics in the sky. A grandiose maritime parade.
The rest after this ad
A great concert by Soprano and Alonzo
At 7 p.m., Olympic swimmer Florent Manaudou retrieved the flame inside Belem and launched the grand tour of France of this mythical symbol of the Games. He then handed over to Paralympic athlete Nantenin Keïta on the floating pontoon in the shape of an Olympic track installed for the occasion. She then passed the baton to Marseille rapper Jul.
“It’s crazy, it’s magical, for me, it’s an honor. I am very proud for France and for Marseille especially. Thank you area! », Launched the rapper to the public, who came in large numbers to attend this great popular festival. There were 150,000 people in the Old Port and 230,000 in the rest of the city, according to the mayor, Benoît Payan. And there were even more of them in the evening to attend the concert of other local stars, Soprano and Alonzo.
The rest after this ad
The rest after this ad
This Thursday, May 9 in the morning, the Olympic torch relay began in front of the emblematic Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde basilica, where Basile Boli, legend of Marseille football, was the first to carry the torch which will arrive in Paris on July 26.
