Olympic Flame To Be Lit In Ancient Olympia For Paris 2024

In ancient Olympia, the place of the ancient Games, the sacred flame for the Paris 2024 Olympics will be kindled on Tuesday. The torch relay will be an epic journey that will take it from the Acropolis to the South Pacific.

The event, which is held every two years for the summer and winter Olympics in the small Peloponnese village in southwest Greece where the Olympics originated in 776 BCE, is anticipated to draw hundreds of dignitaries and spectators.

Viewers will be able to witness the torch relay activities for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak forced scaled-back competitions for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

Using a parabolic polished mirror, Greek actress Mary Mina lit the Olympic flame during a rehearsal on Monday. She then gave it to the first torch bearer, 2020 Olympic rower Stefanos Ntouskos.

It will serve as a fallback in the event that Tuesday’s predicted cloud cover prevents the mirror from igniting. The event will take place at the ruins of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French minister of sports, and Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, will also be there. The Olympic Anthem will be performed by Joyce DiDonato, an American mezzo-soprano.