Symbolic start to Paris Games as sacred flame starts torch relay

The sacred flame for the Paris 2024 Olympics was lit Tuesday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity* and marked by messages of hope.

“In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even – and in particular – during times of war and conflict,” said International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach.

“Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message: yes, it is possible to compete fiercely against each other and at the same time live peacefully together under one roof,” he said.

Owing to cloudy weather, Greek actors in the role of ancient priestesses* used a flame lit in a rehearsal Monday in the 2600-year-old Temple of Hera*, near the stadium where the Olympics were born in 776BC.

Carrying the flame in a pot, Greek actor Mary Mina lit the torch for the first bearer, 2020 Olympic rowing champion Stefanos Ntouskos.

Retired French swimmer Laure Manaudou, who won her first gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, followed as France’s first torchbearer in Olympia.

INCLUSIVE GAMES
Officials on Tuesday stressed that the Paris Games will set new milestones*, following the legacy* of the other two prior Olympics held in the French capital.

“The Olympic Flame will shine over the first Olympic Games inspired by our Olympic Agenda reforms from start to finish,” Mr Bach said.

“These Olympic Games will be younger, more inclusive*, more urban, more sustainable. These will be the very first Olympic Games with full gender parity*, because the IOC allocated* exactly 50 per cent of the places to female and male athletes,” he said.

Paris Olympics chief organiser Tony Estanguet noted that women took part for the first time in the Paris 1900 Games, while the first Olympic Village was created for the Paris 2024 Games.

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic imposed limits for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Beijing Winter Games, the ceremony was back with full regalia* and scores of spectators.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo were present at the ceremony.

American mezzo soprano* Joyce DiDonato delivered the Olympic anthem.

ANCIENT FLAME
The torch harks back to the ancient Olympics, when a sacred flame burned throughout the Games. The tradition was revived in 1936 for the Berlin Games.

During the 11-day relay on Greek soil, some 600 torchbearers will carry the flame over a distance of 5000 kilometres through 41 municipalities*.

PATH TO PARIS
The Olympic flame will be handed over to Paris 2024 organisers in a ceremony at the all-marble Panathenaic* Stadium, site of the first modern Olympic Games of 1896, on April 26.

Nana Mouskouri, the 89-year-old Greek singer with a worldwide following, has been invited to perform at the ceremony.

On April 27, the flame will begin its journey to France on board the 19th-century three-masted barque* Belem, which was launched just weeks after the Athens 1896 Games.

France’s last surviving three-mast steel-hulled boat, it is expected to arrive in Marseilles* on May 8.

Ten thousand torchbearers will then carry the flame across 64 French territories.

It will travel through 400 towns and dozens of tourist attractions during its 12,000km journey through mainland France and overseas French territories in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific.

On July 26, it will form the centrepiece of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

The ceremony is currently planned to be held on the river Seine, with teams sailing down the Seine on barges* – which would mark the first-ever venue outside the Games’ main stadium.

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GLOSSARY

• antiquity: the ancient or distant past, a very long time back in history
• priestess: a female priest of a non-Christian religion
• Hera: powerful goddess of birth and marriage in Ancient Greek mythology
• milestones: important events in the development or history of something or in someone’s life
• legacy: long-lasting impact of something or someone
• inclusive: including everything or all types of people
• parity: equality, sameness, equivalence
• allocated: allotted, assigned, shared, gave out
• regalia: special clothes and decorations, like ceremonial robes and emblems
• mezzo soprano: a woman’s singing voice with a range between soprano and contralto
• municipalities: cities, towns and districts with a degree of local or self-government
• Panathenaic: relating to a Panathenaea, an annual or quadrennial ancient festival honouring Greek goddess Athena
• barque: a sailing ship of three or more masts having the foremasts rigged square
• Marseilles: historic port city in southern France founded around 600BC
• barge: long, narrow boat with a flat bottom

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What is the site of the first modern Olympic Games and in what year were they held?
2. How old is the Temple of Hera?
3. In which years where the other Paris Olympic Games held and what was special in each case?
4. How many torchbearers will carry the flame across how many French territories?
5. The current plan for the opening ceremony involves athletes doing what and where?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Write the words
Did you know that there was an Olympic anthem? Write the lyrics for a new anthem for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Use information in the story to inspire you.

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
What important ideals do you think the Olympic torch and the torch relay symbolise? Brainstorm as many ideas as you can.

Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, Personal and Social Capability

VCOP ACTIVITY
Wow word recycle
There are plenty of wow words (ambitious pieces of vocabulary) being used in the article. Some are in the glossary, but there might be extra ones from the article that you think are exceptional as well.

Identify all the words in the article that you think are not common words, and particularly good choices for the writer to have chosen.

Select three words you have highlighted to recycle into your own sentences.

If any of the words you identified are not in the glossary, write up your own glossary for them.

Extension
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any base words with more specific synonyms?

Down-level for a younger audience. Find a sentence in the article that is high level. Now rewrite it for a younger audience so they can understand the words without using the glossary.