Paris 2024 Olympic Games: the July surprise, a day of celebration in Marseille, a more complicated end to the ceremony… Relive the arrival of the flame from the inside

It is probably still too early to rejoice. Less than 80 days before the opening ceremony of the Games, on July 26 on the Seine in Paris, everything is still possible. The worst and the best. On the other hand, we can welcome the arrival of the Olympic flame on Wednesday in Marseille.

Those responsible for the organizing committee (Cojo) had promised dreams, color and spectacle around the Old Port. The reality probably exceeded their expectations. And that of the 150,000 spectators who came to welcome Belem, official carrier of the torch for the last 12 days after the traditional ceremony in Olympia (Greece).

This blowback with fanfare also twists the neck of the idea that nothing would be possible between the Marseille city and the capital. The Olympics are bigger than an OM-PSG rivalry. And the welcome from the Marseillais was grandiose. From the masterful and noisy nautical parade that began at midday to the Soprano concert at the start of the evening, (almost) nothing came to spoil the party, closely monitored by 6,000 representatives of the police (read by elsewhere). A record!

It was the first real test for Paris 2024, we’re not going to lie. Organizing such a event to launch the torch relay on the roads of France was a daring decision. “Marseille is a city of sport, of passion, of heart. It is also an Olympic city which will host football and sailing events. It made sense to start the adventure here”, has been trumpeting Tony Estanguet, the boss of Cojo, for weeks. The result proves him right.

Alonzo and Soprano

With the images of trash accumulating on certain boulevards of the city due to the garbage collectors’ strike or a handful of anti-Olympic demonstrators blocked on the outskirts of the northern districts all day, the media around the world, more than 1 400 accredited journalists preferred to show the best of Marseille.

Its sun-drenched Old Port; its fans who are masters of the tifo and the history of the city; its artists, Alonzo and Soprano, symbols of local multicultarianism; or even its athletes with the leader Florent Manaudou joined on stage by the Marseille rap star. History will indeed remember that it was Jul and not Zizou who lit the first cauldron of the adventure. Each his own.

Between two dance steps and a wild sirtaki on the steps of city hall, Mayor Benoît Payan logically welcomed this day “for history, extraordinary and popular”. “It was a joke”will say a little later in the evening the Perpignan resident Frédérick Bousquet, ex-swimmer of the Cercle de Marseille and incidentally Olympic medalist.

The opportunity to bring together

The public, gathered at the bottom of the famous Canebière or perched on the Pharo hills, converged on this small piece of athletics track designed to accommodate the three-masted ship and the flame. A steady stream of men and women just happy to be there and commune all day.

“There are so few opportunities to get together, we had to take advantage of them.” Like this retired couple from Lyon, Myriam, Arnaud and Elias had traveled from Montpellier. Initially, they had to follow the Blue Coast without stopping in Marseille. “My wife told me about the flame, we saw the light (from 7 a.m.)…” and they entered. “Frankly, I didn’t expect something like this. What a world, what an organization!”

Twelve hours later, they were still there to see the Old Port burn and the Patrouille de France draw the Olympic rings in the sky of Provence. This Thursday morning, the torch will begin its slow ascent towards the capital. Sunday, she will be in Arles. On Monday, it will pass through Millau, Sète and Montpellier. Reserve your piece of sidewalk!