Seventy sports clubs, two thousand athletes: the parade preceding the arrival of the Olympic flame brought together many people from Lille this Tuesday afternoon, July 2nd in Lille. In joy and good humor.
Onlookers, members of sports clubs, musicians… Thousands of people attended the parade organized in the capital of Flanders on Tuesday, July 2, before the passage of the Olympic flame. The mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, launched the festivities in front of the Lille Opera at 4 p.m.
Welcoming the flame into your city is “a real pride“, rejoices the mayor.We are very happy, we feel that this is a moment where we find ourselves, in a very difficult period where many people are worried, anxious or even angry.“, she said on France 3, referring to the political context.
The passing of the flame is therefore a bit of breathing space in the middle of the legislative elections.Sport is like culture. It allows you to share emotions, to meet up, to meet. We see that the people of Lille are there, so we are happy.“To kick off the festivities, 70 sports clubs from the Lille metropolitan area and nearly 2,000 athletes will be taking to the streets.”It’s a party within a party, it makes us happy”, smiles Martine Aubry.
An important moment also for “pay tribute“to sports clubs,” explains the mayor: “We would not have Olympic champions if they were not there, with their presidents, their volunteers, their coaches!”
Sport is like culture. It allows you to share emotions, to meet up, to meet. We see that the people of Lille are there, so we are happy.
Martine AubryMayor of Lille
At the heart of the parade, the athletes are delighted!”This will be the first and probably the last time that we will do this parade for the Olympic Games.”, explains a member of ES Lille Louvière, a local football club.It’s very moving and it’s great for children. And what’s more, it’s sunny. It’s really a great celebration for the city of Lille!“On the program for the supervisor and the young athletes of the club: participate in the parade then go to the side of the facade of the Esplanade to “see Dany Boon light the Olympic cauldron!”
In the audience, Benoît, 46, travelled from Mouvaux with his family – including his goddaughter, who came from Alsace.We have booked today, we are very happy to see the parade and the entertainment. We will see the arrival of the flame afterwards.” On the Grand’Place, drums are roaring and children are in full martial arts demonstration in the middle of the procession. Further away, trumpets are blaring lively tunes.
Onlookers, members of sports clubs, musicians… Thousands of people attended the parade organized in the capital of Flanders on Tuesday July 2
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© France TV
On Rue Nationale, members of the Lille Aikido club have donned their black and white outfits and are brandishing their sticks. For Marie, 27, “It’s really nice to be able to parade for the Olympic flame, especially since our sport is not represented at the Olympic Games!“The young woman sees it as an opportunity to give visibility to her sport:”We are an aging sport, we don’t have many young people, even though it is a great sport in which we have fun!“To show themselves, the members of Aïkidojo Lille came with”sticks and sabers”.
It’s really nice to be able to parade for the Olympic flame, especially since our sport is not represented at the Olympic Games!
Marie, 27 years oldmember of Aïkidojo Lille
A few dozen meters away, a young man in his twenties perched on a concrete block: “I was having a little beer next door, so I came to see…“, he says. He too will be there to see the flame between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on the façade of the Esplanade.
