Picture by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Olympics.com caught up with the Bedel family from Denmark, laden with memorabilia from the Olympic Games Paris 2024 megastore on the Champs-Élysées, who will be in position to see a unique moment in Olympic history come the Opening Ceremony on 26 July.
Dad Matthias, mum Elisabeth and daughters Katrine, 13, and Astrid, 11, will be beside the Seine, happy to have tickets to the first-ever Olympic Opening Ceremony to take place away from a stadium.
Athlete barges will float down the river, starting at the Austerlitz Bridge before passing under historic bridges and by iconic landmarks such as Notre-Dame and the Louvre, as well as Olympic Games venues including the Esplanade des Invalides and the Grand Palais. Disembarking at the Trocadero, the delegations will then gather for the official opening of Paris 2024.
"It's going to be crazy," said Matthias, whose favourite moment at Olympic Games opening ceremonies is the first sight of his nation's flag. Elisabeth enjoys the moment the Olympic Flame is lit, her husband immediately re-enacting drawing a bow, mimicking the memorable moment from the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992 in which Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo shot a flaming arrow into the Olympic cauldron to light the flame and signal the start of the XXV Olympiad.
Other iconic moments include Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman lighting the flame at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000, while gymnast Li Ning was hoisted skyward before running around the rim of the Bird's Nest Stadium at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008 before providing the spark.
Muhammad Ali, a boxing gold medallist at the Olympic Games Rome 1960, lit the Olympic flame, his hands visibly shaking due to Parkinson's disease in an emotive moment at the Olympic Games Atlanta 1996. The United States will host the next Olympic Summer Games, at LA 2028, followed by Brisbane 2032.
The tradition of carrying the Olympic Flame from Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games to the host city of the modern edition via a torch relay was first introduced in 1936 and has proved a symbolic moment ever since.
Daisy Zhang from Chongqing*,* People's Republic of China**, spoke to Olympics.com** days before the start of the XXXIII Olympiad. The student cited the incredible Opening Ceremony at Beijing 2008 as her favourite, particularly the drummers that live long in the memory of many a sports fan.
Canadian Christina Huang, who was in Paris with her family, extending a stopover after spending three weeks in Shanghai, immediately cited a smile-inducing moment from London 2012 as her pick.
"Oh gosh, the London Olympics and the scene with the Queen. I mean how can you not," she said with a laugh.
Huang is recalling the moment when the late Queen Elizabeth II jumped out of a helicopter into the London Olympic Stadium alongside James Bond – spoiler alert, they were stunt performers – but so secret was the moment that the Queen had not even told her grandsons, the then titled Prince William and Prince Harry, about her grand entrance to the Games.
London 2012 also saw a unique moment when seven young promising athletes were chosen to light the Olympic flame.
Two of those athletes, Desiree Henry, a bronze medallist in the 4x100metres from the Olympic Games Rio 2016, and Adelle Tracey, now representing Jamaica, take to their nation's barges on the Seine as both are competing at Paris 2024, representing the ongoing legacy of the Olympic Games.
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