100 days to the Olympic Games, let the Olympic journey begin!

Although the Olympic Flame is a modern symbol that did not exist during the ancient Olympic Games, it is now part of the Games protocol, with the torch lighting and relay up to the last torchbearer that will light the Olympic cauldron in Paris with it. The Olympic flame relay will last about a hundred days to end during the Olympic Games opening ceremony.

60 stages at crossroads of places of history and memory

From 8 May to 26 July, over 60 stages will be an opportunity to “gather and celebrate the values of Olympism”, says Explore France, the official website for tourism in France. On its way, continues Explore France, the Olympic Flame will put forward “the heritage of France, the diversity of landscapes, its know-hows, and its talents and innovations”.

The flame relay journey will offer, according to the official website of the Games, “a dive in the history of France” This journey creates “bridges between eras, highlighting exceptional sites that contributed to the reputation of France at every major period of its history”. 

In detail, the route of the flame is really a treasure hunt! The flame will go through the Lascaux caves, the archeologic site of Alesia, in the medieval city of Carcassonne, but also the Versailles palace or the Cité internationale de la langue française in Villers-Cotterêts. The Flame will light “architectural masterpieces such as churches and abbeys”, starting with the Mon Saint-Michel. The Loire castles are also a must-go, just as “the most famous arenas, viaducts, bridges, lighthouses and palaces”. The flame will go cross natural spaces too, such as the Verdon regional natural park, the Bavella needles in Corsica, the Canigo in the Pyreneans, the Mont Ventoux, and the Biarritz beaches or vineyards around Bordeaux and in the Champagne region. And the official website also underlines that to pay a tribute to the most recent history, the Flame will go “sites of memory” such as the Verdun memorial or the Landing beaches.  The point is to pay a tribute to all those who built France and made its history: Joan of Arc in Orleans, Robert Schuman, the “Father of Europe” in Scy-Chazelles, Charles de Gaulle in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises.

Six overseas territories

But the flame will not only cross mainland France! It will cross the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans during the Relay across the Oceans to land on six oversea territories: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Reunion Island.

The Explore France website precisely details this other journey with a first stop in Cayenne and the Kourou space centre in French Guiana. The course will set to Reunion Island, with stops on the Plaine des sables, the city of the volcano and the Pointe du Langevin. Even farther, in Tahiti, the Flame “will visit the famous Teahupo’o wave, well know of surfers”, which will also host surf competitions during the Games. The Flame will also travel to the Guadeloupe Island, and more specifically to Pointe-à-Pitre, to discover the Act Memorial, the Caribbean centre of expression and memory of slave trade. The Relay will end its oversea journey with a stop in Martinique, before crossing back the Atlantic to set course to the French Riviera.

11,000 torchbearers for 3 energies

The Flame is nothing without its torchbearers! Over 11,000 people will have this “privilege”, says the Games official website, to “share a positive and enthusiastic message”. Without spoiling the torchbearers’ name, the official website stresses that they were “selected based on their commitment, dedication and how they embody at least one of the core tenets of Paris 2024”.

There are three “energies”:

• the energy of sport and the Games, of the athletes, volunteers and working professionals from various sports associations, but also volunteers and “all the people who have been involved in this adventure since it began”.
• the energy of communities, symbolised by “everyone who is running businesses, innovating, creating, and embodying French excellence across all sectors”.
• the energy of the collective, of those “who are taking action each day to build a more inclusive, more sustainable, and fairer society”.

The torchbearers, concludes the official website, will represent “the outstanding diversity of our society: women and men, national and local public figures, as well as citizens selected from among the public, including people with disabilities, to use the Relay as an opportunity to promote a more inclusive society”.

 A French know-how route

 In addition to the historical and touristic aspect of the Olympic Flame route, the ministry of economy launched the French know-how route to promote the regional economic fabric of France. For the ministry, since there are “millions of French and foreign visitors and over a billion viewers worldwide”, the idea is to bring value to local territories in a way, to “make known and spread the know how” of French companies and occupations in craft, agriculture, industry and catering.

The French know-how route is structured around two types of operations:

• Come and visit my workshop!, an operation in which manufacturers, start-ups, craftsmen and farmers are “invited to open their doors and showcase their trades and production sites to the general public, as well as to schoolchildren and students looking for training, and to the local, national and even foreign media”;
• Come and visit my market!, an invitation launched by local public and private players to encourage craftsmen, producers and manufacturers to "set up markets, fairs and exhibitions to showcase and sell their products".

An international campaign

In the same spirit, Atout France, the French government’s tourism operator, has launched the Open Doors Open Games campaign to coincide with the Games.

 This international campaign, broadcast in a dozen foreign countries, celebrates “a France proud to welcome the world”, in a promotional film featuring dancers “reinterpreting Olympic disciplines” and featuring various personalities who “embody excellence in their field”, such as French DJ Agoria, Olympic boxing champion Tony Yoka, Marie-Amélie le Fur, multiple Paralympic medallist, Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx and astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

In association with the Paris 2024 Games Organising Committee, the campaign is promoting France as an “inspiring, daring and inclusive destination” on the international stage, drawing on the country’s unrivalled natural, cultural and gastronomic heritage, art de vivre and hospitality. Open Doors Open Games is in fact “an invitation to discover a France rich in irs diversity, daring and far from the usual clichés, a France that thrives on sport and that the whole world dreams of visiting”. And Atout France points out that the Open Doors Open Games slogan reflects France’s pride “in welcoming the world to the Paris 2024 Games, 100 years after the last Summer Olympic Games in France, and in hosting the Summer Paralympic Games for the first time”.

Explore more: 

- Olympic torch relay route

- The torchbearers

- The know-how route

- The Open Doors, Open Games campaign