Preparations for the biggest ever sporting event to be organised in France began seven years ago. In terms of organisation, this is equivalent to 43 football world cup tournaments, and we will be ready T he infrastructure needed to host the world’s top athletes is already ready. The Olympic Village and Olympic Aquatic Centre, located in Saint-Denis, were inaugurated in Febru- ary and April 2024 respectively. The train- ing centre for parasports will be completed by Sep- tember 2024. A unique centre of its kind anywhere in Europe, it will ensure maximum accessibility and conditions for participants in the Paralympic Games. The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, welcomed the completion of renovation works on Paris’s Grand Palais, which will host competitions in four Olympic events: fencing, taekwondo, para-taek- wondo and wheelchair fencing. After 11 days cruising the Mediterranean, the famous barque Belem brought the Olympic torch to Marseille. A spectacular parade lasting several hours was held along the length of the Marseille waterfront as the sailing ship docked in Le Vieux Port, to the accompaniment of the sounds of the Marseille Philharmonic and a magnificent fire- works display. The Olympic torch will travel through 400 towns and cities before arriving in Paris for the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony will take place simultane- ously along the Seine and in one of the stadiums of Paris. It is expected that more than 10,000 Olympic athletes will parade along the river as part of the spec- tacle directed by renowned theatre director Thomas Jolly. This year’s Summer Olympic Games will provide reason for the people of France to feel a sense of pride and to support the nation’s Olympians. In the meantime, the Embassy of the Republic of France in Serbia joined forces with the Olympic Com- mittee of Serbia and the Serbian Ministry of Educa- tion, Science and Technological Development to or- FROM MY POINT OF VIEW: STANISLAS PIERRE, DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUT FRANÇAIS IN SERBIA We’re celebrating all the beauty of sport
ganise the contest “We’re going to Paris: Srećko and Phryge are taking you to the Olympic Games”, which included the participation of more than 10,000 Serbi- an children. The contest’s three laureates will receive an opportunity to experience the Olympics live at bas- ketball matches in Lille and Paris. Institut Français in Serbia will host an exhibition entitled ‘Those ladies at the Olympic Games’, which will present to Belgraders the role of women in the history of sports and the Olympic Games. Excluded from the Olympic movement until the 19 th century, fe- male athletes spent decades fighting to gain their own place in sports and at the Olympic Games. This Insti- tut Français-organised exhibition is dedicated specif- ically to those women. Films covering the theme of sports will tour 20+ cities in Serbia over the course of the entire year, un- der the scope of the French Film Caravan programme, but also within the framework of the French Film Fes- tival. You can also watch part of this festival’s pro- gramme from 4 th to 7 th July on the plateau between the two towers of New Belgrade’s Ušće business centre.
France » Francuska | 65
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