PARIS: The Olympic torch relay will arrive in Paris on Sunday, July 14 , as it begins the final stage of a journey that will end on July 26 at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games 2024, according to the organising committee.
The torch will make its first foray into the capital twelve days before the opening ceremony, allowing Parisians and visitors to the City of Light a preview of the big celebration of Olympism to come. The Olympic torch will be the protagonist of the 14 July evening.
It will burn brightly in the capital, lighting up the summer evening as the city gears up for the start of the Olympic Games. The relay will pass by many of France’s most recognisable sites this Sunday, starting at the Grand Palais and finishing its route at the Place de l’Hotel de Ville.
July 14 is also Bastille Day, a national holiday in France, and nothing could send a more powerful message than seeing the torch weave its way across the City of Light.
The torch will make its way down the Champs-Elysees the traditional location of a Bastille Day military parade. From there, it will head to the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, before passing through the Jardin du Luxembourg: a 25-hectare green oasis in the heart of the city.
The torch will then zip past L’Olympia, before setting course for the prestigious Place Vendome and on to the Louvre, one of the most famous art museums in the world. It will then advance to the Centre Pompidou, which houses the biggest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe, before moving on to the celebration site: Place de l’Hotel de Ville. (ANI/WAM)