MARSEILLE, France -- Torchbearers carried the Olympic flame through the streets of France's southern port city of Marseille on Thursday, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for a welcoming ceremony.
The torch is on an 11-week journey across the country with about 10,000 bearers passing through more than 450 towns until the Games' opening ceremony in Paris on July 26.
Former soccer player Basile Boli, who played with the Marseille team in the 1990s, kicked off Thursday's relay from the Notre Dame de la Garde basilica that overlooks Marseille and the Mediterranean.
"I'm very proud," Boli said. "You feel like you're on top of the world, because with an Olympic flame there's a special fervor. ... It's the symbol of sport."
NBA Hall of Famer Tony Parker then took his turn in the relay. On a nearby crowded beach, swimmers and sunbathers cheered the torchbearers as the flame passed.
A fencing champion, a skateboarder, a Michelin-starred chef and a comedian were also chosen to carry the flame.
Ex-NBA star Tony Parker carried the Olympic flame through the streets of Marseille as the crowds cheered him on ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics. pic.twitter.com/Z4xnDI5qPD
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 9, 2024
"Let's go for a fantastic celebration," said Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris Olympics organizing committee. "The Games are back in our country. ... Let's share this fantastic moment of celebration with millions of people in the country."
Participants were scheduled to run all day past landmarks in the city to bring the torch to the roof of the famed Stade Velodrome, home to Marseille's passionate soccer fans. Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba, a former star player for the Marseille club, will be the last torchbearer of the day and is expected to light the Olympic cauldron.
"It's fantastic to give that sense of pride to the French people and to show to the whole world what we're capable to achieve," Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said, adding, "We're going to give happiness to the whole world."
One of the torchbearers is Ukrainian gymnast Mariia Vysochanska, who won two gold medals at the 2020 European championships and competed at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Her inclusion was an expression of solidarity with Ukraine and a symbolic gesture to mark Europe Day, which falls on May 9 each year. Vysochanska will lead a group of 27 other athletes who represent all European Union member states.
"It is very hard to put all the emotions I experience into words," Vysochanska said. "I feel pride and incredible happiness that Ukraine became the 28th country [to carry the flame with EU countries] and that the captain has honored me by letting me carry the Olympic flame."
Vysochanska's participation holds personal significance: Her father has been fighting since 2015, a year after Russia's aggression first started with the illegal annexation of Crimea and was followed by armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. Her father participated in the 242-day-long battle for Donetsk airport, where he received a head injury. Soldiers who defended the airport in the currently Russian-occupied city of Donetsk were dubbed "cyborgs" in Ukraine for holding the position for such a long time.
Marseille on Wednesday celebrated the flame's arrival, with more than 230,000 people attending the ceremony in the Old Port, according to the city's mayor, Benoît Payan.
During the Games, the sailing competition and some soccer matches will be held in Marseille.