Sports News Today – Swiss and International

Olympic Games: A fire is burning in Paris

The Olympic flame for the Summer Games in Paris is burning. The torch relay race has begun.

The Olympic flame for the Paris Summer Games was lit at the site of ancient Olympia in Greece. Since the sun did not rise on Tuesday, the bonfire had to be lit with the fire that had been lit the day before during the dress rehearsal.

Traditionally, the Olympic torch is lit using a parabolic mirror. The “High Priestess,” Greek actress Mary Mena, said at the ceremony: “Apollon, god of sun and light, you have sent your rays and lit the flame for the hospitable city of Paris.”

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach emphasized that the Olympic Games are a symbol of peace. The German said: “In these difficult times that we live in, in which wars and conflicts are increasing, people are tired of all the hatred, aggression, and negative news they face every day.”

“In their hearts, people longed for something that would bring them together and unite them,” Bach continued. “The Olympic flame we are lighting today is a symbol of that hope.”

In the coming days, the fire will be carried in a relay race across several regions of Greece. On April 26, the torch will be handed over to the organizers of the Paris Games – at the ancient Olympic Stadium in Athens. The Panathenaicon Stadium hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

The flames are then scheduled to sail from the port of Piraeus on board the French three-captain ship “Belém” to Marseille. This coastal city is connected to Greece. It was founded in ancient times by the Greeks who settled there. The fire is scheduled to arrive in France on May 8.

The Olympic Games will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. (DAP/EPA)