PREVIEW

The Olympic Torch finally arrived in Paris on Sunday (14July2024) - Bastille Day -for two days of celebrations in the heart of the city.
The route of the Olympic Torch Relay lit up the French capital’s historical and emblematic sites. 220 torchbearers took it in turns to carry the Olympic Torch, Thierry Henry got matters underway on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées while tennis legend Yannick Noah lit the celebration cauldron in front of the Hôtel de Ville at the end of the night.
The City of Paris organized an exceptional show with the Concert de Paris accompanied by the Radio France orchestra, followed by fireworks from the Eiffel Tower.
Since the beginning of the relay, more than 5.5 million spectators have come to watch the Olympic Torch pass by and this first day in Paris has already attracted several hundred thousand more people along the route’s roadsides as well as all around the entertainment organised by the City of Paris authorities.
Throughout the day, the Olympic Torch put the spotlight on the iconic sites of the French capital along with a whole host of entertainments organised by the City of Paris authorities. The relay continued its route to the Petit Palais Museum where four opera singers (the D.I.V.A) performed a rendition of famous opera arias, before the Olympic Torch was taken to the capital’s political institutions, namely the Senate and neighbouring Jardin du Luxembourg park as well as the Assemblée Nationale, the site of the French parliament.
The Olympic Torch Relay also visited the Panthéon the Sorbonne University and Saint Geneviève library.
The Olympic Torch Relay’s route took it through the Andalusian garden of the Grand Mosque of Paris, before making its way past Notre Dame Cathedral, where the Paris fire brigade put on an artistic sequence. It also visited the forecourt of the Arab World Institute, at which a collective work by the artist Zepha was exhibited, and a tribute took place in front of the Mémorial de la Shoah holocaust museum. In the Marais district, the relay made its way through the legendary Place des Vosges and made a halt in front of the house of Victor Hugo.
It then headed to Place de la Bastille where a major dance performance enchanted the spectators: 200 amateur dancers from the Paris Opera were joined by lead ballet dancers Dorothée Gilbert and Hugo Marchand, as well as 32 swans from Nureyev’s interpretation of the Swan Lake ballet. A vibrant tribute to the victims of the attacks on 13th November 2015 took place in front of the Bataclan, where Republican Guard cellist Arthur Lamarre performed.
The relay then took in Place du colonel Fabien, throbbing to the beats laid down by DJ Cargo, Rue des Martyrs and its street art entertainment, Opéra Garnier, Place Vendôme and then the Louvre Museum, which welcomes over 7 million visitors per year. After passing in front of the La Samaritaine department store, it crossed through the Nelson Mandela gardens, to the Hôtel de Ville. Following the Concert de Paris, accompanied by the orchestra of Radio France, the last day’s torchbearer, Yannick Noah, lit the celebration cauldron on the square for a moment of sharing with the Parisian public. The City of Paris fireworks display from the Eiffel Tower rounded off the day in style.