Olympics
Identity of who lights Olympic Cauldron is kept secret as Zidane is a suspect
The identity of the person who lights the Olympic cauldron on the night of the opening ceremony is one of sport’s best-kept secrets, with less than a dozen people in the know.
Paris 2024 organising committee president Tony Estanguet on Sunday said the person who will light the cauldron on Friday was not yet aware they had been selected.
Here are the top five contenders:
MARIE-JOSE PEREC
The 56-year-old is widely considered to be France’s best Olympian of all time, with three gold medals across two Games in athletics.
Perec, who was born in the overseas region of Guadeloupe, won the 400 metres title at the Barcelona Games in 1992 before achieving the 200-400m double four years later in Atlanta.
She bore the torch in her native Guadeloupe but Estanguet said someone who had already carried it could not be ruled out.
OMAR SY
The star of ‘The Untouchables’, of West African origin, is one of France’s most-beloved personalities. He also stars in the Netflix show ‘Lupin’, whose first series is the third-most watched on the platform, with almost 100 million viewers.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE
France’s greatest soccer player who helped Les Bleus to their first World Cup title, on home soil in 1998 and to the European title two years later, Zidane, whose parents are from Algeria, hails from the Marseille estates.
He was the favourite to bring the Olympic flame to land in Marseille after its boat trip from Greece but eventually was not involved.
THOMAS PESQUET
The Frenchman is the most experienced European astronaut with almost 400 days spent in space – and possibly as many spent on TV sets due to his huge popularity in the country.
SURVIVOR(S) FROM THE NOVEMBER 13, 2015 ATTACKS
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo says she decided to support the Olympic bid after Islamist squads killed 130 people in a night of carnage across Paris on Nov. 13, 2015, looking to lift the Parisians’ moods. It would be fitting to see one or several survivors of the attacks light the cauldron on Friday.
-Reuters
The Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower since June to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Games were removed from the Parisian monument early on Friday morning, as confirmed by an AFP photographer. But the Paris City Hall intends to replace them with a more permanent structure until 2028.
The five-coloured rings, measuring 29 metres in length and 15 metres in height, were placed between the first and second levels of the iconic iron structure on 7 June.
According to Inside the Games publication, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants the Olympic symbol to continue decorating the monument until the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
But the descendants of the tower’s creator, Gustave Eiffel are opposing the move. They are insisting that the Olympic rings are aesthetically in conflict with the concept and design of the Tower.
The 30-tonne rings initially installed on the Eiffel Tower were also not designed to withstand winter weather conditions.
Olympics
Despite Egypt winning 3 medals at Paris Olympics, President Al-Sisi orders sports system overhaul
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi ordered a comprehensive evaluation of sports federations that participatedat the Paris Olympic Games, following a mission report submitted by the country’s sports minister.
The mandate includes a thorough expenditure check and a performance review to better highlight areas of improvement and fund allocation in future Games.
Additionally, the president plans to take necessary measures against federations —such as limiting funds— that had negative results in the Paris Games.
Egypt’s participation in sports where it lacks a competitive advantage will also be limited, as the president aims to direct resources to promising athletes to ensure optimal results. The president also aims to reduce administrative and technical staff within Olympic delegations and task relevant ministries with preparing future Olympic athletes.
Al-Sisi’s Olympic overhaul is to be presented to the cabinet for approval and urged the government to prioritise amending the sports law for the House of Representatives for review.
Egypt took home a total of three medals in the Summer Games. Ahmed El-Gendy triumphed in modern pentathlon, Sara Samir claimed the silver in weightlifting, and 21-year-old fencer Mohamed El-Sayed earned the bronze.
-Insidethegames
Paris 2024 sold a record 12 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics, beating the Games record previously set by London 2012, organisers said on Sunday.
Some 9.5 million tickets were sold for the Olympics and 2.5 million for the Paralympics, which end on Sunday.
In 2012, London organisers set the record for the Paralympics with 2.7 million tickets sold but only 8.2 million were sold for the Olympics.
-Reuters
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