The Olympic torch will finally enter France when it reaches the southern seaport of Marseille on Wednesday. And it’s already been quite a journey. After being lit by the sun’s rays on April 16 in Ancient Olympia, the torch was carried around Greece before leaving Athens aboard a three-mast ship named Belem, headed for Marseille. The Belem was first used in 1896, the same year the modern Olympics came back. It will be accompanied by more than 1,000 boats as it parades around the Bay of Marseille, before arriving at the Vieux-Port, or Old Port, and docking on a pontoon resembling an athletics tracks. Torch bearers will carry the flame across Marseille the next day, the last stretch running on the roof of the famed Stade Vélodrome, home to Marseille’s passionate soccer fans. After leaving Marseille, a vast relay route will be undertaken before the torch odyssey ends on July 27 in Paris. |
Pat Beverley throws ball at Pacers fans, kicks reporter out of lockerSafety lapses contributed to patient assaults at Oregon State Hospital, federal report saysBills sign WR Chase Claypool, DE Dawuane Smoot and LB Deion Jones to 1Dodgers twoStanton and Rizzo help Yankees rally in 9th inning for 2Chevrolet denies participation in Team Penske's IndyCar cheating scandalRunaway steel drum from Pittsburgh construction site hits kills womanLocal elections 2024: Full results show which parties won in YOUR areaArsenal to pay tribute to Gunners fan Daniel Anjorin after the 14Chet Holmgren and Lu Dort anchor elite Thunder defense heading into second round of NBA playoffs