Paris Olympics 2024 flame lit at Olympia, birthplace of ancient Games in Greece
Paris 2024 Olympics
The torch for the 2024 Paris Olympics was lit in ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympics, in a traditional ceremony on Tuesday (Apr 16). The flame marks the final stretch of the preparations for the Games and will now begin its journey that culminates in the French capital when the fire cauldron at the Stade de France will be lit using the flame during the opening ceremony.
The choreographed ceremony was inspired by the traditions and values of ancient Greece. Actresses dressed as ancient priestesses entered the stadium, accompanying the head priestess to the Temple of Hera where religious ceremonies were undertaken and the flame lit.
Greek actress Mary Mina played the part of the head priestess and lit the torch using a backup flame instead of a parabolic mirror due to cloudy skies, for the start of a relay in Greece and France.
"In these difficult times we are living through, with wars and conflicts on the rise, people are fed up with all the hate, the aggression and negative news they are facing day in and day out," International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said in his speech.
"We are longing for something which brings us together, something that is unifying, something that gives us hope. The Olympic flame that we are lighting today is the symbol of this hope."
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The ceremony took place a day after French President Emmanuel Macron said backup plans were in place to relocate the opening ceremony in case of increased terror threats.
Woman Olympian calls for ban onAfghanistan
As the start of the Olympics nears, Friba Rezayee, the first woman to represent Afghanistan at the Games has started a campaign for the country to be kept out of the events in Paris.
Rezayee has called on the IOC to ban Afghanistan due to the Taliban's horrid human rights record. She added that under such a ban, Afghan women should still be allowed to participate as part of the IOC refugee Olympic Team.
"Given tonnes and tonnes of evidence about the Taliban, about their brutal treatment of women and children, they are very dangerous," Rezayee was quoted as saying byReuters.
Taliban has heavily curtailed the human rights of its citizens, especially young girls and women,ever since taking over the country in 2021 after American troops leftthe country.
(With inputs from agencies)