Usain Bolt, the legendary track and field athlete and eight-time Olympic champion, presented the Olympic torch today, ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The ceremony was held on a boat on the Seine River. The Jamaican Bolt received the torch from Tony Estanga, a former Olympic kayaker and head of the Olympic Committee for the upcoming Olympics.
“I’m very happy to be here,” said Usain Bolt, who retired in 2017. “Paris has always been a city that has given me pleasure – both in competitions and in entertainment. I’m excited for the Olympics next year, and I’ll be here with my family.”
The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics will be held exactly one year from now – on July 26, 2024. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of people will come to the banks of the Seine to watch the ceremony.
Preparations for the Olympics are continuing in full swing. The message being conveyed by the organizers is that this is a reboot of the Olympic enterprise – after the economic troubles in Rio and the coronavirus that affected the Tokyo Olympics. This time we will do it properly, they imply, even though the political and social turmoil in France continues in the background, and demonstrations and strikes are still expected to occur.
The upcoming Paris Olympics will also place a significant emphasis on ecology. 95% of the facilities will be existing or temporary, and only the athletes' village will be built as a completely new place. The budget for the Olympics, which is about 8 billion euros, is lower than previous Olympics in London, Rio and Tokyo.
The motto of the 2024 Olympics is Faster, higher, stronger – together – with an emphasis on unity and equal opportunities. For example, the closing marathon of the Olympics will be for women, not men, as has been the custom until now.