Olympic Flame Approaches Paris: Reliving the Grandeur of 1924

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Twenty days before the opening ceremony, the Olympic flame is approaching Paris. This Saturday, July 6, the Euro will host the 50th stage of the relay. If you want to attend this foundational moment of the Paris 2024 Olympics, here are the places you should go.

The 83 porters for the day will start at 9 a.m. in the town of Pont-Audemer where a boat sequence is planned from the start of the relay. The torch bearers will set off from the Madeleine-La Risle bridge over the water and stop at the Alexis Vastine Sports Park, this time on foot, at 9:40 a.m. In Gisors (10 a.m.-10:20 a.m.), the relay will continue in the interior courtyard of the fortified castle, former home of the Duke of Normandy, before leaving the enclosure and reaching the town hall.

Then, direction Val-de-Reuil (11:26 a.m.-12:49 p.m.), for a route between the Memory and Peace monument and the Jesse Owens stadium, a true symbol of sport in Eure, where a collective relay is organized by the Athletics Federation with the presence of international medalist and sports ambassador of the department, Just Kwaou-Mathey. The relay will continue in Bernay (1:53 p.m.-2:13 p.m.) with the Notre-Dame de Bernay abbey church which will host the start and end of the passage in the space of twenty minutes.

In Évreux (3:22 p.m.-4:15 p.m.), the Olympic flame will tour the city, starting with the Jean Moulin school and ending on the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville. Then to Verneuil-d'Avre-et-d'Iton (5:39 p.m. - 5:59 p.m.), where she will visit the Sainte Madeleine and Saint-Laurent churches on her way to rue de la Ferté to the south of the city.

Finally, Vernon (6:23 p.m.-7:20 p.m.) will host end-of-day festivities. The start will be given from the Vernonnet stadium. The procession will skirt the Château des Tourelles before crossing the Eure to reach the Town Hall. After a long loop around the city, the flame will retrace its steps to the Place de la République to allow it to light the cauldron in front of the Vernon crowd. An event marking the end of the 50th stage of the Olympic torch relay.

In partnership with RetroNews, the BNF press site, Le Figaro recounts the opening ceremony in Paris of the VIII Olympic Games on July 5, 1924. This day does not, however, mark the start of the tests. They began in May, shortly following the Winter Games organized in Chamonix.

The preparation of the event had caused its share of controversies with an increase in transport prices, the expulsion of students from their accommodation and the construction of an Olympic village criticized for its lack of comfort. It must be said that the government only granted 6 million francs for the second Olympic Games organized in France after those of 1900. The state's finances were then in a sorry state. But this July 5, Parisians were still there.

The festive day began with a mass at Notre-Dame de Paris. The Archbishop of Paris recalled that Saint Paul recommended the Corinthians to participate in the stadium games "because physical strength, when it accompanies moral elevation, is pleasing to God", before blessing the 1924 Games.

Then 25,000 spectators, according to Le Figaro, flocked to the Colombes stadium to attend a “wonderfully picturesque” ceremony. The highlight was the parade of 3000 athletes representing 45 nations. They came from the four corners of the world to fight on the cinder track which surrounds the vast lawn where the athletic competitions of jumping and throwing would take place.

The aristocratic elite appeared in the stands: the prince regent of Romania and his wife, the royal prince of Sweden, the maharajah of Kapurthala, the prince of Wales. Upon entering the tribune of honor, the President of the Republic, Gaston Doumergue, was acclaimed while the Marseillaise sounded. He was accompanied by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, president of the International Olympic Committee and Count de Clary, president of the French Olympic Committee.

At the end of the parade, Gaston Doumergue proclaimed the opening of the VIIIth Olympiad of the modern era. Trumpets of the guard sounded, bombs detonated, and thousands of pigeons flew away while the Olympic flag with its five intertwined rings slowly rose to the top of the Olympic mast where, subsequently, the colors would fly for winning athletes. The Heroic March of Saint-Saëns was performed.

In front of the tribune of honor, the French athlete Géo André then proclaimed the Olympic oath: "We swear that we present ourselves to the Olympic Games as loyal competitors, respectful of the regulations which govern them and eager to participate in them in a chivalrous spirit, for the honor of our countries and for the glory of sport." The VIII Olympic Games were open.