Practical information
The journey of the Flame
- Departure of the Olympic Flame relay at 6:20 p.m. in front of the headquarters of the European Metropolis of Lille, then passing in front of the headquarters of the Department of Nord, the Pont de Flandres, the Lille-Europe station, avenue Le Corbusier, the Lille-station Flandres, rue Faidherbe, the Grand Place, rue Nationale, boulevard de la Liberté, the facade of the Esplanade.
- Arrival at 7:30 p.m. on the Champ de Mars esplanade, where Dany Boon, last torchbearer, will light the cauldron.
- At 4 p.m., a huge parade with 1,700 people and 65 sports associations will leave from rue Faidherbe with fanfare. The Flame will then cross the city to finish its journey on the Champ de Mars esplanade, where the festivities will start at 3 p.m.
Parking and traffic restrictions
For the successful organization of this event, we kindly ask you to take into account the following provisions relating to parking and traffic:
- Parking will be prohibited from Monday July 1, 2024 at 11 p.m. to Tuesday July 2, 2024 at 10 p.m. (portions specified on the map below)
- Traffic will be prohibited on Tuesday July 2, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (portions specified on the map below).
- These provisions will be gradually lifted, following decisions by the authorities. The City services will ensure that the impact and duration of the installations are minimized. Thank you for your understanding.
Due to the passage of the Flame, certain lines of the Ilévia network will not run on Tuesday July 2, 2024. All the details below.
Cauldron Ceremony at the Champ de Mars
The “cauldron ceremony” will take place on the Champ de Mars esplanade, at the Lille citadel.
Open to the public from 3:30 p.m., this celebration area will only be accessible from the south of the Champ de Mars, that is to say the main entrance bridge to the citadel. The Napoleon Bridge and the Petit Paradis Bridge will be closed to the public.
Access control to the celebration area will be ensured by security agents who will carry out security checks (security pat-downs and bag searches in particular).
The celebration area of the Champ de Mars in Lille will be able to accommodate up to 17,000 people, one of the largest capacity in France for this type of event. For the occasion, this celebration area will be an establishment open to the public, thus making it possible to apply and monitor accessibility and safety rules.
Access to the site will be stopped when the maximum capacity has been reached.
Discover the 2 bearers and 2 bearers of the Olympic Flame, chosen by the City of Lille.
The symbol of the Olympic Flame
A few months before the opening of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece, under the authority of the IOC.
This place, symbol of the link between the Ancient Olympic Games and the modern Games, is the starting point of a great journey for the Olympic flame, carried for several weeks to the host city of the Games, notably by runners.
All along the route, the flame announces the Olympic Games and transmits a message of peace and friendship to the people. The torch relay ends during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The last torchbearer (or sometimes the last torchbearers) enters the stadium and lights the cauldron with the Olympic flame.
For Paris 2024:
- May 8, 2024: Arrival of the Flame in Marseille.
- July 2, 2024: arrival of the Flame in Lille
- July 26, 2024: lighting of the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
Lille, an Olympic destiny
Did you know ?
Lille is the city with the most medals in France. It is the only French city in history to have won 19 Olympic medals (in water polo and swimming with Tritons Lille, Charles Devendeville, the two teams of Pupils of Neptune of Lille et Leon See in fencing) during Paris Games in 1900. But the city principle very quickly disappeared to make way for national teams.
Discover the history of Lille at the Games.
