The Olympic flame arrives in France on Wednesday where a highly choreographed ceremony and a crowd of 150,000 people will be a first major test for organisers and security forces ahead of the 2024 Paris Games.The transfer of the flame onshore in the southern port of Marseille will mark the start of a 12,000-kilometre (7,500-mile) torch relay across mainland France and the country’s far-flung overseas territories.
Organisers are hoping the first public spectacle of their much-hyped “iconic” Olympics — just 79 days away — will help build excitement after a damaging row about ticket prices and ongoing security concerns.
“It’s something we’ve been waiting for for a very long time,” chief organiser Tony Estanguet told reporters on Monday. “It’s here. One hundred years after the last Games, the Games are coming home.”
