PARIS (Reuters) – Torchbearers in the Paris Olympics relay will pass by the site of the November 2015 Islamist attack on the Bataclan concert hall, organisers said on Monday as they revealed a route designed to showcase the host city’s “different facets”.
The flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, before being taken to Marseille on May 8 and then gradually make its way to Paris.
The Parisian route will begin on July 14 and finish the following day, with the torch then travelling through the rest of France before returning to Paris for the Games’ opening ceremony on July 26 next year.
“The torchbearers will pass places of recent memory, notably the Bataclan, the site of the 2015 attacks, historic landmarks such as the Bastille and the National Assembly, and grand royal squares such as Place de la Concorde and Place des Vosges,” organisers said.
“… They will cover 31 kilometres on 14 July and 27.5km on 15 July. Parisians will be able to attend free of charge the passage of the torchbearers (120 per day in Paris) who will be escorted so that all security conditions are ensured.”
Organisers added that the route would also include working-class neighbourhoods, places of worship and cultural venues and would pass through each arrondissement (administrative division)of the city.
The Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Stade Roland Garros are among the other notable sites on the route.
The Olympics will be held from July 26-Aug. 11.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
