Thessaloniki: The Olympic Flame will spend the night at the Umbrellas of Zongolopoulos

The Olympic flame has been burning since Sunday afternoon (21/4) in Thessaloniki, where it will spend the night before continuing its long journey to Paris. With the weather doing its “games”, first with heavy rain and then with the sun casting its last “glances” on the city, the dozens of torchbearers ran through the main streets carrying the timeless messages of peace and truce.

The Olympic Flame arrived at 7 pm at the beach front with the last torchbearer being the Olympic discus thrower Tasoula Kelesidou, who lit the altar in front of the Zongolopoulos Umbrellas together with the mayor of Thessaloniki and vice president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Stelios Angeloudis.

“It is a great joy and emotion to welcome the flame to our city, as each spark symbolizes the Olympic values. The peace that is tested in the most brutal way, the hypocrisy that is left over, the social solidarity that is missing, the excellence that we are looking for, the fair play that is a way of life”, said Mr. Angeloudis in his short greeting.

The mayor added that Thessaloniki may not have been “lucky enough to host the Olympic Games, but it can be an Olympic city by raising the Olympic family”.

In her own greeting, the ambassador of France, Laurence Auer, focused on the strong relations maintained by Greece and France. “Nothing more beautiful could represent the relationship that unites our two peoples than this sacred flame that will spread from city to city the enthusiasm of all of us”, he characteristically said inviting the world to the Olympic Games in Paris.

The president of the Hellenic Torch Relay Committee of the EOE, Thanasis Vassiliadis, referred to the eleven-day torch relay of the Olympic flame before it reached the French capital and the timeless messages that the flame sends. “We, the custodians of the sacred flame, will try these days to circulate it from Corfu to Kastelorizo, from Alexandroupolis to Crete and the Cyclades, conveying the timeless messages that the flame emits,” he said.

The governor of Central Macedonia, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, focused on the “unchanging values ​​that the flame represents. Unity, peace, the power of the human spirit.” “The Olympic games can undoubtedly be a reference point for cooperation, understanding, peace and mutual respect and the athletes who will carry the flame forward, on the journey that continues from Thessaloniki to Paris, is clearly an example for us all” , emphasized the regional governor.

The reception of the flame at the Zongolopoulos Umbrellas was also attended by the Deputy Minister of Macedonia – Thrace, Stathis Konstantinidis, MPs, deputy regional governors and deputy mayors. The flame will spend the night in Thessaloniki, from where it will depart at 8:24 a.m. on Monday with a final destination of the Byzantine holy temple of Agios Panteleimon near Kamara and continue its journey to the archaeological site of Philippi and Kavala.

It was preceded by a modest ceremony at the Olympic Museum

The Olympic Flame started today’s route to Thessaloniki from Toumpa and the first reception took place at the Cultural Center. Immediately after, he headed to the Olympic Museum on September 3rd, where a modest ceremony was held.

Despite the torrential rain that was falling in the city at that time, a large number of people, young and old, gathered with umbrellas at the Olympic Museum and warmly applauded Olympian Vassilis Tsolakidis who lit the altar.

The event was attended by – among others – the mayor of Thessaloniki, Stelios Angeloudis, the ambassador of France, the president of the International Olympic Academy, Isidoros Kouvelos, etc.

The passage from the French Institute and the route on central roads

The next stop of the Olympic flame was the French Institute of Thessaloniki, as this year’s Olympic Games will take place in the summer in Paris. The consul general of France, Jean-Luc Laveau, and the head of educational cooperation and the Olympic program at the French Institute, Danae Ioakeimidou, ran with the flame as torchbearers.

The streets on Stratou Avenue were full of people, while from early on the Allatin-Dasso hall of the French Institute was “flooded” by children participating in Olympic Games-themed activities. They were “initiated” into all sports and left with smiles and souvenirs in hand.

Then, the Olympic flame through central streets such as Tsimiski, Ionos Dragoumi, Nikis Avenue and 30th of October arrived at the Umbrellas of Zongolopoulos to spend the night in Thessaloniki.