The incredible journey of the Olympic torch is drawing to a close! On 26 July, it made its final dash from Saint-Denis to Paris, where it will ignite the cauldron at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony tonight. In about three months, the torch has lit up over 450 towns and cities across 65 regions, including 5 overseas territories, and covered 17,000 kilometres! Sponsored by Coca-Cola, Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne, this adventure has truly captured the enthusiasm of people across France for the Games. The torch painted smiles on faces and touched hearts wherever it went, offering a beautiful glimpse of the excitement awaiting the French people in just a few hours.
Today, the Olympic torch performed its final dance through the regions, from Saint-Denis, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, to Paris, where it will make its appearance at tonight's Opening Ceremony. Along its route, the torch passed through several Olympic venues pulsating with Games excitement, as well as historic sites such as the Basilica of Saint-Denis. It even took to the water, gliding along the Saint-Denis and Saint-Martin canals, moving to the beat of performances organised by the City of Paris.
This final day was anything but ordinary! Around a hundred torchbearers illuminated the journey, thrilling onlookers with a star-studded line-up. International celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and Laetitia Casta shared the spotlight with the sporting legends Sergey Bubka, Chris Hoy and Lindsey Vonn. The Olympic world was well represented too, with the International Olympic Committee President, Thomas Bach, joining the relay, not to mention all the unsung heroes with inspiring stories.
The events of the day reached a crescendo with Pharrell Williams at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, followed by a never-seen-before performance by the artist Slimane, organised by the City of Saint-Denis, just hours before the Opening Ceremony. With this spectacular finale, the moment that everyone has been waiting for is finally here! After a century-long wait, France is set to experience a historic evening that will inaugurate an extraordinary summer.
One last sprint for the Olympic torch before the Paris 2024 Games Opening Ceremony
The final moments of the Olympic Torch Relay in the regions proved legendary, bringing nearly three months of an extraordinary journey across France to a spectacular close. The torch began its route in the Pleyel neighbourhood, starting from Boulevard Ornano and making its way to Pleyel Station, which opened just last month. After passing through the brand-new Pleyel Urban Crossing, the torch headed towards the Olympic and Paralympic Village, where the first athletes arrived a week ago.
The journey continued around the iconic Stade de France, which will host the athletics events and has already begun welcoming rugby sevens competitions. From there, the torch proceeded to another key Paris 2024 venue, the Olympic Aquatics Centre. This facility, spearheaded by the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area and co-funded by the French government, the Île-de-France Region, the City of Paris, the Seine-Saint-Denis Department and Plaine Commune, stands as a jewel in the crown of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic sports facilities, with a lasting legacy beyond the Games. It will play host to the Olympic diving and artistic swimming events and the water polo qualifying rounds. After that, it will become the training centre for para-swimming during the Paralympic Games.
The Olympic torch then embarked on a boat journey along Canal Saint-Denis, which has undergone a complete renovation to provide a more pleasant environment for users. Gliding gently, the torch made its way towards Paris via the Aubervilliers Lock, continuing to the Quatre Chemins Lock before finally entering the French capital on Quai de la Charente and meandering through Parc de la Villette. After a stop at Club France, now the beating heart of Team France, it resumed its aquatic journey from the Bassin de la Villette to Canal Saint-Martin. This segment saw the torch pass through four locks: La Villette-Jaurès, Les Morts, Les Récollets and Temple. The torch then disappeared into the Canal Saint-Martin Tunnel, sailing towards the Opening Ceremony.
To dial up the excitement, the City of Paris orchestrated a series of performances along the route, echoing the festive atmosphere of the Parisian stages on 14 and 15 July. At the Bassin de la Villette, spectators were treated to impressive Dragon Boat demonstrations by the Dragons Ladies, a project run by the Phoenix & Dragons organisation, composed of cancer patients and their loved ones. The Olympic torch fleet —comprising paddleboards, pedalos, and boats— escorted the convoy along Canal Saint-Martin while a mobile DJ kept the canal-side crowds energised. The artist Kessy Mac Queen delivered a captivating performance on the Bichat footbridge, while the Paris Cheerleaders wowed onlookers with their acrobatic routines on Quai Valmy.
The Basilica of Saint-Denis served as the epicentre of the final stage. It then set the scene for a pre-show extravaganza —a true prelude to the Opening Ceremony, organised by the City of Saint-Denis and broadcast on France Télévisions. It was an extraordinary live symphonic performance by Slimane, accompanied by the urban choir SANKOFA UNIT and conducted by Zahia Ziouani with her Divertimento orchestra.
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Legendary athletes for an extraordinary team relay
The final two team relays of this grand Olympic Torch Relay adventure will undoubtedly be etched in memory. The first took place in the heart of the Olympic village, where legendary champions who have thrilled the world with their performances passed the torch under the admiring gaze of the new generation of Olympians. This touching moment added a special spark for all the athletes qualified for the Paris 2024 Games!
The track and field legend Allyson Felix set off alongside the multi-titled Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini, the Spanish basketball player Pau Gasol, the Moroccan athletics icon Hicham El Guerrouj and the badminton sensation Lin Dan. The line-up continued with the American skier Lindsey Vonn, Britain's most decorated Olympian, Chris Hoy, the famous Brazilian skateboarder Leticia Bufoni, the Swiss four-time world cycling champion Fabian Cancellara, the Canadian Summer and Winter Olympian Oluseyi Smith, and Cléopâtre Darleux, a goalkeeper on the French handball team.
They passed the torch alongside the Chinese athletes Jingyu Wu (taekwondo) and Hong Zhang (speed skating), the Polish mountain biker Maja Włoszczowska, the Japanese fencer Yuki Ota, the Argentinian sailor Santiago Lange, the Kenyan rugby player Humphrey Kayange and the Swedish skier Frida Hansdotter. Other relay runners with equally prestigious careers included the swimmer Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe's first-ever gold medallist, Masomah Ali Zada (Afghanistan) and Yiech Pur Biel (South Sudan) who competed as part of the Refugee Olympic Team, and the Tongan Pita Taufatofua, who has participated in both taekwondo and cross-country skiing at the Olympics.
Second team relay celebrates builders
Later in the day, it was time for the "Builders' Team Relay" to set the tone. This group included several members of Solideo, the Olympic works delivery company, embodying the ambitious development projects undertaken for Paris 2024 to meet the long-term needs of the host sites. Beyond their temporary use during the Games, these projects aim to improve residents' quality of life by constructing, renovating and making local public facilities more accessible.
This relay brought together all the trades involved in building and renovating Olympic venues constructed by Solideo, gathering in the new Pleyel neighbourhood. The torchbearers represented design offices, service providers, construction companies and security firms. In a symbolic gesture bridging paper and reality, the Olympic Aquatics Centre's two architects, Laure Meriaud and Cécilia Gross, passed the torch to the builders.
A hundred Forerunners pound the tarmac on the home straight
Over a hundred torchbearers took part in the final stage, including champions who have left an indelible mark on their sports. The public had the chance to cheer for the gold medallists Carolina Klüft (heptathlon) and Thierry Rey (judo), alongside the Tokyo silver medallist fencer Anita Blaze and Nathalie Péchalat, a figure skating star who went on to head the French Ice Sports Federation. Sergey Bubka, a multiple-time world and Olympic pole vault champion and the first athlete to clear 6 metres, also joined in.
Crowds turned out in force to catch a glimpse of exceptional personalities. The American rap icon Snoop Dogg, set to be a consultant for NBC during the Olympic Games, was a major draw. The French contingent included the artist MC Solaar, the actor Jean-Pascal Zadi, the chef Pierre Sang, the comedian Booder and the orchestra conductor Zahia Ziouani.
The Paris 2024 torch also passed through the hands of key Olympic figures who help sustain the movement. In the Olympic village, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, the former UN Secretary-General and current IOC Ethics Commission President, Ban Ki-moon, the World Health Organisation Director, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, and the IOC Athletes' Commission Chair, Emma Terho each took turns carrying the Olympic torch. At Club France, David Lappartient, President of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, shared his relay moment with the two flag bearers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Florent Manaudou and Mélina Robert-Michon, in an emotionally charged scene.
As in every stage of the relay, unsung heroes with compelling stories joined the celebration. Among them were Latifa Benkada, an active member of a charity promoting women's sports in Seine-Saint-Denis, Zohra Tadjene, who works to encourage sports activities including basketball, and Emma Lamont, a dedicated Red Cross volunteer.
The stage built up to a spectacular close, with a final relay sequence illuminating the Basilica of Saint-Denis. The journalist Mohamed Bouhafsi lit the torch from the esplanade in front of the basilica before handing over the torch to the iconic French model and actress Laetitia Casta, who carried it through the nave. This segment ended in unprecedented style, with Pharrell Williams holding the torch aloft from the roof of the building. The world-renowned musician, singer and hit-maker shines as Louis Vuitton's Men's Creative Director.
This marked the end of the final stage of the Torch Relay before the start of the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony. Over the past three months, 10,000 people have carried the Olympic torch. The joy, emotion and fervour that fired up each torchbearer sparked an incredible momentum, bringing the Olympic spirit to the heart of communities across France. From Mediterranean shores to mountain peaks, from villages to urban centres, from rural areas to overseas territories, the Torch Relay has transcended differences and brought together generations.
The involvement of Official Sponsors —Coca-Cola, Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne— along with local authorities, state services and all Paris 2024 teams has been a crucial driving force behind the success of this unique adventure. Now, the stage is set for the greatest sporting event on Earth. A century after the last edition held in Paris, the Games have returned to the capital. Following a torch relay packed with fond memories and emotions, people in France now look forward to extending the festive spirit throughout what promises to be the fortnight of a lifetime!
