TOKYO (AP) — A giant flag will be flown from the Eiffel Tower on Sunday that Paris Olympic organizers claim will be the biggest in history.
The unfurling is planned during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics when the formal handover goes to the next Summer Games host in 2024.
The passing of the hosting baton will be split between the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo and a public party and concert in Paris.
“It will be biggest flag ever flown,” Paris organizing committee president Tony Estanguet said, describing it as the size of a soccer field.
A trial flag was flown from the iconic tower in June in what is appears to have been a test for the Olympic handover.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is in Tokyo to take part in the closing ceremony, and French President Emmanuel Macron will take part by video link from the French capital.
Macron has strongly supported the Olympic project since being elected in 2017, weeks before Paris was confirmed as the future host.
The next presidential election is in April and Hidalgo was asked Friday if a change in political direction would have any effect.
“In France, we have a very large consensus for this Olympic Games,” said the mayor, who was re-elected last year as a Socialist Party candidate to stay in office until 2026.
“All the political (leaders) have the same view,” Hidalgo said. “We think that the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 are very, very good news for our country.”
___
More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
