The journey of the Olympic flame is as much a human story (11,000 torchbearers will carry it between Marseille and Paris) as it is a matter of big money. Before its arrival on Wednesday May 8 in France, “Libération” explains behind the scenes of the operation.
An emotional truth rather than a scientific one, the mythical flame of the Olympic Games is lit in Greece for each Olympiad before being carefully transported to the host country, where it moves from torch to torch. This custom of the torch relay, invented by Nazi Germany on the occasion of the Berlin Games in 1936, arouses great enthusiasm, like the celebration of a secular religion. The Paris 2024 relay should be no exception to the rule: the organizers hope for 10 to 20 million spectators during its run, from this Wednesday, May 8 to mid-July.
Who lights the flame, who carries it?
Lit on April 16 in the sanctuary of Olympia, in Greece – a failure, the cloudy sky did not allow it to be ignited by the rays of the sun, as tradition dictates – the precious little piece of fire first joined Athens where it was used to light a cauldron in the Panathenaic stadium near the Acropolis. He then boarded the Belem, where he is fed with paraffin by his three guardians who must have him within sight or reach whatever the time of day or night. On board the famous three-masted ship to Marseille, the flame is kept in a lantern but two others lit in Olympia were sent by plane to Paris. In the event of a problem on the Belem Caisse d’Epargne Foundation ship, they will be sent to Marseille for the disembarkation of the Belem. This is where the first torch of the relay should be lit. From Marseille, the flame will circulate from torch to torch for sixty-nine days, over 5,000 km and cross 52 cities in mainland France or overseas.
The objective is to bring the Games to life throughout France, including famous places or places with a strong historical coefficient: the Lascaux caves, the Alésia site, the Château de Versailles, Mont-Saint-Michel , the castles of the Loire, the Verdun memorial, the landing beaches, Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, the Mont-Blanc valley, the Pic du Midi or, France obliges, the vineyards of Saint-Emilion and Chablis . The flame will also tour the overseas territories and pass through the Kourou space center… Another route will take place for the Paralympic Games, with twelve flames which will converge on Paris.
Who pays and why?
The journey of the flame is also a big money affair. These are the departments which were chosen as pivots to define the course. On the recommendation of the Assembly of French Departments, it was agreed that each candidate department should pay 180,000 euros, a fixed price. At this price, the flame crosses three towns in the department and stops in a stopover town where events can be organized.
Except that certain departments – notably those led by opposition parties – refused, judging the bill too steep. So the flame will not pass through Lyon, because the Rhône department (LR) like the Lyon metropolitan area (EE-LV) said no. And 37 other departments did the same. Particularly in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The organizers therefore allowed cities to replace the departments, like Vichy which paid full price to become a stopover town, which saved passage into the Massif Central. A total of 65 communities, the vast majority of them departmental councils, paid the 180,000 euros. Results: 11.7 million for the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games.
But the relay’s revenue comes mainly from sponsors, who have paid tens of millions of euros. In the lead, the two main partners, the BPCE banking group and the giant Coca-Cola, who can thus associate their brands with the flame logo. Second-tier sponsors (ArcelorMittal, Sephora (LVMH group), the shipowner CMA-CGM, Sanofi, La Poste or Airbnb and Visa which are also “World” sponsors of the IOC) also contribute to the costs, in cash or in kind. . Thus Arcelor manufactured the 2,000 Olympic torches, in the shape of a tapered spindle, designed by designer Mathieu Lehanneur and laminated in Florange. A slot in the side of these steel torches creates a fire flag effect. Confidence: they run on gas. Disappointment: impossible to acquire one as a souvenir.
How will the course go?
The flame is a convoy of around ten cars more than a kilometer long. Like a Tour de France caravan before its time. At the head is the torch bearer, who walks, runs, or uses a wheelchair, surrounded by a hundred members of the police who form a security bubble around him. Behind follow “floats” in the colors of the sponsor brands. The torchbearers pass the flame to each other, lighting the torch of the next one. But she will also take the car or plane a lot to get from one city to another.
In all, 11,000 flame bearers were chosen from tens of thousands of volunteers. We know the name of the first carrier in Marseille this Wednesday, Florent Manaudou, and this Monday, May 6, we learned that Jean-Pierre Papin, legend of the Olympique de Marseille, the ex-basketball player Tony Parker, but also the rapper Soprano and three-star chef Alexandre Mazzia will take turns in the city on Thursday. According to the confidences in the regional daily press, we learn the names of the carriers of the rest of the course, such as the star player of Stade Toulouse, Romain Ntamack, who will light the cauldron of the flame in Toulouse or the decathlete Kevin Mayer in Montpellier. The unique full-scale torch relay rehearsal, which took place on March 22 in Nogent-sur-Seine (Aube), attracted a large audience of all ages. Even though the torches did not yet have a flame.
