The Olympic flame will finally taste French hospitality. After a long journey of 12 days in the Mediterranean Sea aboard the Belem from Greece, the Olympic flame will set foot in France, in Marseille, this Wednesday, May 8.
She will see the silhouette of the Good Mother as soon as she arrives in the northern harbor of Marseille around 11 a.m. Before leisurely heading towards the Old Port for the end of the afternoon, after having paraded for a good part of the day. This is where she will be welcomed by the group of OM supporters, the South Winners, 2,000 of whose members will be present to host tifos that they have created for the occasion.
After Olympic champion Laure Manaudou in Greece, it is her brother, Florent Manaudou, also Olympic champion, who will be the first bearer of this Olympic symbol on French soil. He will unload it from Belem, in a final effort on the 100-meter athletics track specially installed in the Old Port for the occasion. The flame will then take its place in the cauldron installed a little further away, from where it will be able to enjoy the concert by Soprano and Alonzo, the highlight of the show for its first day on French soil.
“The Guardians sleep near the flame”
After such a long journey and such a welcome, the Olympic flame will need to rest. And like most of the 150,000 tourists and 1,400 journalists accredited for the occasion, “she will sleep at the hotel, accompanied by the guardians of the flame”, confides to 20 minutes the organization of the torch relay. Without being able to specify the exact address “for security reasons”.
But she will have the right to very special attention. This is the mission of the “guardians of the flame”: “They will ensure the integrity of the Olympic and Paralympic flame so that it never goes out. And in particular: ensuring the safety and integrity of the original flame, throughout the duration of the relay, day and night. The guards even sleep near the flame,” adds the organization.
“These guardians of the flame come from the armies, the police, the gendarmerie or Civil Security, and are recruited on the basis of an internal competition. They don’t have a security role at all. They ensure the integrity of the flame and are present with the torchbearers, so as to intervene in the event of a problem. I like to say that they are the nannies of the flame,” explained the Flame Relay deputy director, Grégory Murac to our colleagues at West France.
The well-kept flame in lanterns
The symbol of peace, unity and sportsmanship will therefore remain lit during the night, but not in one of the 2,000 70 cm and 1.5 kg torches built for the Olympic and Paralympic torch relays. It will be housed in a lantern. “The flame has never been extinguished since it was lit in Olympia. When the torch is not lit, it is kept in lanterns. Several lanterns will collect the sacred fire in order to guarantee the longevity of the flame and to facilitate its transport. The lanterns remain lit throughout the duration of the Olympic torch relay, day and night and regardless of the mode of transport used, air, sea, land,” explains the organization of the torch relay.
And even if he were to want to do malicious action against anyone, a specific protocol is planned. “One of the guardians of the flame is still in a vehicle and is ready to relight the torch, still with the flame of Olympia,” warned Grégory Murac. A device that will accompany the flame from its arrival on May 8 until July 26 when it will light the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.