A unique place for a unique event…
The Olympic flame, will be lit this Wednesday, June 19, at 8:30 a.m., will leave the Ocres de Rustrel. The image would have been beautiful to see but for security reasons, no spectators are allowed along the 900 meters of the course, in the heart of Colorado Provençal.
“It is an immense pride and a great honor to welcome the torch to our village.comments the mayor, Pierre Tartanson. But we would have liked the Rustrelians to benefit from it. They are a little upset, frustrated, and I understand them“.”A popular festival behind closed doors… It’s strange“, cowardly, a bit annoyed, an elected official.
While waiting for the return of the porters, the city councilor, assisted by his deputies, is preparing the socio-cultural space, which will welcome the 5 torchbearers once the route is completed. “We receive 250,000 visitors per year. Today, we will be very far from the more than 3,000 people we can have per day during the summer peaks“. The walls of the room, and this is a surprise, were decorated by the schoolchildren. The rings sit enthroned, surrounded by drawings.
Not far from the refectory, where the flame is displayed, the bearers, all dressed in white, are briefed. None of them are from the village. But whatever. “You don’t have to run very fast but you don’t walk either“, explains Quentin Schneider, responsible for the flame bearers. “Also, after the ‘torch kiss’, do not leave with the torch lit if the other is not extinguished.“At the end of the relay, the flame will be put back in a lantern. One last war cry, and we’re off.
The relay of this symbol of the Games, which will mobilize around a hundred scouts throughout the day, will continue in Apt, then passing through L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, the summit of Ventoux, Orange, Sorgues and finally Avignon. The canyon will reopen at 10 a.m.
