Olympic Flame ceremony & Torch Relay 2024

[Sylvia]

Livestreaming now is the #Paris2024 Flame Handover Ceremony in (eta) the Panatheniac Olympic Stadium in Athens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN0aJUSosyM
Gabriella Papadakis was one of the torch bearer participants today (2nd Olympic athlete in the stadium relay) - will post a time stamped link later.

 

[Sylvia]

Gabriella appears at 51:34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN0aJUSosyM&t=3095s

ETA that IDC shared a screenshot: https://twitter.com/icedancecom/status/1783892133969088851

April 26, 2024 press release:

The Olympic Flame is in the hands of Paris 2024! Sights set on Marseille, with

Following the Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony on 16 April in Olympia and 11 days of Relay across Greece, the Olympic Flame was officially handed over to Paris 2024. During the Handover[...]

press.paris2024.org

Gabriella Papadakis, an ice dancer whose father is of Greek origin, has been selected by Coca-Cola, one of the Official Sponsors of the Paris 2024 Torch Relay. She forms a famous duo with her partner Guillaume Cizeron, with whom she began skating at the age of 9. Silver medallists at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, they went on to win gold in 2022 at the Beijing Olympics. [...]
"It's a very symbolic moment for me. My father is Greek and my mother is French. Carrying the Olympic Flame to Athens crystallises my personal history with these two countries. I'm honoured to have represented all the values that this flame represents, here in the cradle of Olympism. I would like to thank Coca-Cola for giving me this unique opportunity, which I will always remember."

The Olympic Torch relay in France will begin with its arrival in Marseille on the ship Belem on 8 May 2024:

Arrival of the Olympic Flame in Marseille on 8 May, Paris 2024 invites partici

On 8 May, when it arrives in Marseille with the Olympic Flame on board, the Belem will take part in a maritime parade before making a grand entrance into the Old Port. Paris 2024 wish[...]

press.paris2024.org

Torch Relay route & dates: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/olympic-torch-relay/route

 

[Sylvia]

Jeux Olympiques on Instagram: "@gabriellapapadakis, symbole du trait d’union entre la France et la Grèce.🇫🇷❤️🇬🇷 Championne olympique à Beijing 2022 avec @guillaume_cizeron, aujourd’hui avec la flamme de @paris2024 lors de la cérémonie de passation.

5,366 likes, 28 comments - jeuxolympiques on April 26, 2024: "@gabriellapapadakis, symbole du trait d’union entre la France et la Grèce.🇫🇷❤️🇬🇷 Championne olympique à Beijing 2022 ...".

www.instagram.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1783892591030816994

 

[UMBS Go Blue]

I hope this, and everything that will happen in Paris this summer, will inspire Gabriella and Guillaume to come back for the next Winter Olympics, please please

 

[Karen-W]

I hope this, and everything that will happen in Paris this summer, will inspire Gabriella and Guillaume to come back for the next Winter Olympics, please please

Conversely, I hope this confirms for her that her Olympic journey is complete and there is no need to come back.

 

[Sylvia]

Gabriella’s photos from yesterday (last one is a clip of the ship that will sail the Olympic Flame to France; more in her Insta stories): https://www.instagram.com/p/C6RG1LNIH-s/

 

[Sylvia]

One more post by Gabriella today with 3 photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6WSL6ZIMrf/
In English:

3,000 years ago, the Olympic Games were born in ancient Greece. In 1894, a Frenchman named Pierre de Coubertin made them popular again.
A little over thirty years ago, my mother, who loved Greece, met my father there, who was born in Athens. They got married in France a few years later, and my father left Greece to see me born.
The day these photos are taken, the Olympic flame, which had left Olympia, is being passed into the hands of France in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. I am the first French athlete on the route, representing the handover between the two countries.

The Olympic dream came relatively late in my life. When I was little, I saw myself as a writer. Then ice skating took over, everything flew by very quickly, and ironically, I couldn’t have invented a more beautiful story.

The adventures of the Belem, the historic French sailing ship bringing the Olympic flame to France (2-minute video via France 24 English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrqawyaLcuU
"The mission of transporting the Olympic flame on the first leg of its journey to the opening ceremony in Paris was given to one of the France’s most venerable sailing ships, the Belem, built in 1896."