The Olympic Torch entered the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg on 26 June and was greeted by leading officials, parliamentarians and staff on its journey to the host city of Paris ahead of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Theodoros Rousopoulos welcomed the Torch, recalling the 2,800-year-old origins of the Games in his native Greece, as well as their historic link with France thanks to Pierre de Coubertin’s revival of the modern Games in 1896. “We welcome the Olympic Torch of Peace to the cradle of human rights,” said the President as the flame burned in the center of the hemicycle. “We send our best wishes to the International Olympic Committee and to France for the organization of the Games of the 33rd Olympiad. Bonne route pour Paris!”

The Torch was carried this unprecedented time by Yvette Palatino, world champion of kick-boxing in 1992 and the first female boxing coach in France. It will be carried, in total, by some 11,500 runners on its 12,500-kilometer journey from ancient Olympia in Greece to the host city.