This is the prologue of the Olympic season: the journey of the flame to Paris, host city of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad of the modern era. The flame will arrive in Marseille on May 8, 2024, aboard the three-master Belem, coming, as tradition dictates, from the site of Olympia, Greece. She will win Paris on July 14, ten days before the opening ceremony.

We will have to wait a little longer to find out his precise itinerary, which will be unveiled by the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Cojop) on June 23, during a ceremony at the Sorbonne.

On Tuesday, May 30, however, the body lifted part of the veil regarding another aspect of the torch relay: the methods for selecting its bearers.

We now know the names of the four “super-ambassador” athletes chosen by Paris 2024 to carry the Olympic flame. They are Olympic multi-medal swimmers Laure and Florent Manaudou, European paratriathlon champion, Mona Francis, and Paralympic long jump vice-champion in Tokyo, Dimitri Pavadé.

They will be supported by 11,000 other carriers, famous or anonymous: 10,000 for the Olympic relay and 1,000 for the Paralympic relay, which will be organized after the closing of the Olympic Games – but Paralympic sport will already have its place right from the start of the race. Olympic flame. Each torchbearer will be able to cover 200 meters holding the Olympic flame at arm’s length.

Almost all of the 11,000 relay runners (90%) of this “for all” relay, in the words of the organizers, will be designated, in equal parts, by Paris 2024, the sponsors of the relay – namely Coca-Cola and Banque Populaire-Caisse d’Épargne (BPCE) – and sports organisations, like the French National Olympic and Sports Committee.

The remaining 10% will be left to the discretion of the community stages of the relay – around sixty departments have applied, for a “contribution” of 180,000 euros. This is a first in the history of the journey of the flame.

BPCE will launch its selection on June 1 and Coca in July. The vast majority of those selected will be known at the start of 2024, with a goal of gender parity. The names of the champions and personalities will be revealed over the months.

The future bearers may be sports personalities, local actors who help to highlight the flame’s journey, but also individuals who are committed through themes such as education or the environment.

“These scouts [name given to torchbearers by the organizers] are all those who live and bring sport to life on a daily basis, all those who have invested in the Paris 2024 Games, all those who are impatient to welcome them and live them “, we insist on the side of the Cojop.

The federations of the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines included in the program of the Paris Games will also be involved in the relay: sixty-nine collective relays (composed of 24 participants) will mark the course and 55% of them will highlight personalities from different bodies. sports.

In order to respect its promise of “Games open to all”, the Cojop explains that it “co-constructed the course [of the flame] with the territories”. A “long” process, recognizes the committee, nevertheless ensuring that it is “happy with the result”.

The torch relay will cover sixty-four “territories” in total, fifty-four departments in mainland France, five overseas territories, including Polynesia – the host land of the surfing events – and five “host territories”, such as the city of Montpellier, which joined forces with Sète (Hérault) and Millau (Aveyron) to host the flame, while the Hérault departmental council had refused to apply because of the cost.