The Olympic flame arrived in Marseille, outside the old port of the French city, under tight security measures. Just 79 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games the city of lights will welcome more than 150,000 people at the torch relay ceremony that is said to arrive aboard the Belem, a three-masted sailing ship that left Greece April 27.The flame was lit in Ancient Olympia 11 days earlier, while 1,024 boats awaited the sailing ship to transport the Olympic flame.

Approximately 6,000 police officers have been deployed in the area, as Florent Manaudou, the French Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 50-meter freestyle in 2012, was expected to carry the torch on land, in the presence of President Emmanuel Macron.Trained dogs from the French Police and snipers from elite French forces have also been deployed. “This is an unprecedented level of security,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said. “Life goes on in Marseille, but under high-security conditions.”

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The event is designated as a ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, in addition to the opening and closing ceremonies said Thierry Reboul, the executive director of Paris 2024 responsible for the ceremonies. “Marseille is the ideal place to create memories; it was the obvious choice,” emphasised Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 organising committee, for Marseille.