Olympic games
Greeks hand over Olympic flame to Paris
The President of the French Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet (r), accepted the Olympic flame in Athens. photo
© Petros Giannakouris/AP/dpa
The clock is ticking for the start of the Olympic Games in Paris. The flame has now been ceremoniously handed over to the French organizers. She will arrive in France soon.
In a solemn ceremony in Athens, the organizers of the Summer Olympic Games Paris took over the Olympic flame.
The event took place in the Panathenaic Stadium, built entirely of marble – where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. The famous Greek singer Nana Mouskouri sang the national anthems of France and Greece in front of around 20,000 spectators, the event was broadcast live on television.
“Our best wishes for a successful hosting of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris,” said the President of the Greek Olympic Committee, Spyros Kapralos, at the handover to the President of the French Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet. The arrival of the fire in France is scheduled for May 8th. The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26th to August 11th.
The flame is to be brought to Marseille on Saturday from the port of Piraeus on board the French three-master ship “Belem”. The largest French port city has historically close ties to Greece. It was founded in ancient times by Greeks who settled there.
The Olympic flame for the Paris Games was lit on April 16 in the ancient site of Olympia on the Peloponnese peninsula. Afterwards we traveled through Greece with a torch relay.