Marseille will experience a foretaste of the Olympic Games on May 8 with the arrival of the Olympic flame in the city. On May 9, the flame will travel through the streets of the Marseille city, carried by several torchbearers. While waiting for the festivities to begin, here is what you need to know about these two days of celebrations.
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It is first of all the Belem, famous three-masted ship, flagship of the French navy, which will put on a show. This ship, one of the oldest in Europe, built in 1896, the same year as the first Olympic Games modern, has been carrying the Olympic flame across the Mediterranean since April 27, and its departure from the port of Athens. It should reach the end of its hull around 11 a.m. – French time – on May 8 off the coast of the Marseille city. This is when the festivities at sea will begin.
THE Belem will parade for six hours in the North harbor, then the South harbor of the city, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Some lucky people will be able to approach the ship up close, because more than 1,000 private boats are expected to follow it at sea, before it docks at the city’s port, around 7 p.m.
Florent Manaudou, first bearer of the flame on French soil
It is at this precise moment that the second sequence of festivities will begin. As a symbol, the flame, which arrives from Greece, will be extracted from Belem in the Old Port of Marseille, a city founded by the Greeks 2,600 years ago.
The first bearer of the flame on French soil will be the French swimmer Florent Manaudou, Olympic swimming champion, crowned in 2012 at the London Olympic Games. He will carry the flame on a floating athletics track which connects the Belem in the cauldron, which the Frenchman will therefore have the privilege of lighting.
A few days earlier, in Olympia, Greece, it was his sister, Laura Manaudouwho was the first French bearer of the Olympic flame, when it was lit on April 16.
Two days of festivities, 150,000 spectators expected
The arrival of the flame at sea and then on land will be punctuated by activities and festivities in the city. For two days, all of Marseille is preparing to experience the Olympic Games in preview. And the show promises to be there with, for example, the orchestra of the Marseille opera. It is he who will accompany the entry of Belem in the Old Port.
The 150,000 expected spectators will also be able to see pyrotechnic effects as the ship enters. A giant tifo, similar to those that can be seen in a football stadium, could also flourish from the crowd, thanks to the supporters of Olympique de Marseille who could be present for these festivities.
XXL security for an exceptional event, exceptional security since nearly 6,000 law enforcement officers will be mobilized. Never seen before in Marseille, according to its mayor Benoit Payan. This ranges from police officers on jet skis, to aerial and underwater drones, including snipers. Even if ” no threat » does not weigh on the event after Gerald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, visiting Marseille on April 26, for an update on security. The arrival of the flame in Marseille will be the first full-scale test for the authorities between now and the opening ceremony in July in Paris.
Read alsoIn Greece, the “Belem” heads for France with the Olympic flame on board