The Olympic flame travels across the Mediterranean Sea aboard the Belen.
The lines went around Panathinaikos StadiumV Athens. Thousands of Greeks and tourists from all over the world waited patiently to gain access to the ceremony, open to the public, of handing over the Olympic flame to the event organizers. Paris 2024. Panathinaikos, one of the oldest stadiums in the world, seats 45 thousand people and is built entirely from quarried marble Pentelicfrom which the marble from which the building was constructed was also quarried. Parthenon more than two thousand years ago. The stadium collapsed when Nana Mouskourithe most international Greek singer, performed national anthems of France and Greece. The flame arrived at the stadium thanks to the help of the Greek athlete Antigoni Drisbioti, Olympic champion in race walking. After choreography Dimitris Papaioanou Inspired by ancient Greece, the flame was created Spyros Kapralos, President of the Greek Olympic CommitteeTo Tony Estanguette.
“The ceremony, as always, was fantastic,” says Katerina, a retired Olympic Committee veteran who attended the ceremony in the company of her grandson Fibos, who has been waiting for this moment for many years and believes this is the best moment. The special feature of this event is the “combination of history and sports.” For his part, Fernando Caligas Castilla, a Greek and Spanish citizen who did not want to miss the ceremony, enthusiastically explains to this newspaper that “the ceremony was sensational” and that he is looking forward to seeing how he is going to go to France.
Traveling the Mediterranean
On Saturday morning the lama set off on her journey. Belemschooner built in 1896 which was announced historical monument. Belem is responsible for transporting the Olympic flame from Greece to France. The Olympia trireme, a boat built entirely of wood according to archaeological data and ancient sources, also took part in the farewell ceremony to the flame. The Olympia reached the port of Piraeus in the south of Athens thanks to the coordinated efforts of more than a hundred oarsmen. “I am very glad the ship is leaving” comments for ABC Shuam, a volunteer who came from Paris to help the Belem crew.
To bid farewell to the flames, the orchestra performed classical songs of Greek music, such as “Children of Piraeus» from the composer Hands of Jatzidakisand which won an Oscar for best song of the 1960s. Finally, at 11 a.m. local time, Belem set sail for the French city and former Greek colony of Marseille, from where it will begin its journey across France. arriving in Paris shortly before the start Olympic Games.
“My message to the Spanish people: we will be happy to welcome you to our country. “We know that Spaniards love sports and we hope they will win a lot of medals,” he told this newspaper. Estanguet.
The 2024 Olympic Games will be held in Paris. from July 26 to August 11one hundred years after the French city hosted the Olympic Games for the first time.