It was there where it all began, in 1896, in the historic grounds of the Panathenaic Stadium which saw the birth, in Athens, of the first modern Olympic Games (OG), that the Olympic flame was officially presented on Friday April 26 to France. Looking at the stands which can accommodate up to 80,000 spectators, Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee (Cojo), recalled that this place was the “symbol of the link between the ancient Games and the modern Games, present on all the medals awarded to the winners”.
Under a bright blue sky, 150 students from the Eugène-Delacroix French high school in Athens opened the ball, then Nana Mouskouri sang the French and Greek anthems, while the Franco-Greek host Nikos Aliagas presented the ceremony.
Finally, ice dance skater Gabriella Papadakis, gold medalist at the 2022 Beijing Games, who is also of Greek origin – a “champion who symbolizes this meeting between the two countries” – carried the flame during the last meters of the relay. It is also no coincidence that this flame will arrive in France, on May 8, at Massalia (Marseille), a trading post which was founded by the Greeks in 600 BC.
Since Greece’s war of independence against the Ottoman occupier (1821-1829), during which France supported the Greeks, ties between the two countries have always been strong. The creator of the modern Olympic Games is also a Frenchman, Pierre de Coubertin, who was inspired by the ancient games that took place on the site of Olympia, in the Peloponnese.
“A new standard in the organization”
From Athens, where she had traveled for the second consecutive time in eleven days, the Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, said “feel a lot of emotion to be in this stadium” and reminded “France’s multiple cooperation with Greece”. In addition to sending thirteen Greek police officers to France for the Olympics, the minister spoke of her desire to establish better cooperation in the sporting field to support Greek teams who do not always have the means to train properly. in their country due to lack of adequate facilities.
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra expressed the wish that “these games send a universal message around the values of peace and harmony” and underlined the importance of the security system put in place: “up to 45,000” members of the police will be deployed for the opening ceremony in Paris, with the participation of 2,000 police officers from abroad.
You have 53.22% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.