Olympic Flag Arrives in Paris Ahead of 2024 Games

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, right, holds the Olympic flag next International Olympic Committee's President Thomas Bach, left, during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Charlie Riedel

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo brandished the Olympic flag on Monday in Paris upon her return from Tokyo, as the French capital will organize the Games in 2024.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo brandished the Olympic flag after disembarking from the Air France flight that brought many of France’s Olympic medalists back to Charles de Gaulle airport.

Hidalgo, who formally received the flag Sunday during the Tokyo closing ceremony from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, told reporters the flag “is the symbol that now, really, the Paris Games are coming”, adding: They will be “very positive for our country”.

She said the Tokyo Games were “organised in very difficult conditions” because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

French organisers will stay in touch with Japanese counterparts to prepare for the Paris Games, including on security issues, Hidalgo added.

The Olympic flag will be raised at Paris City Hall later on Monday. A celebration will then take place at Trocadéro square, which overlooks the Eiffel Tower, so that the public can welcome the French medalists home.

August 09, 2021