By Sylvia Chebet
Coloured smoke rose to the sky as the Olympic Flame arrived in Marseille, France's oldest and second largest city, signaling the beginning of one the world's biggest sporting extravaganzas.
More than 1,000 boats welcomed the Belem, a 19th century three-masted tall ship that carried the Olympic Flame across the Mediterranean Sea to the French shores
Florent Manaudou, France's 2012 Olympic men's 50 metres freestyle swimming champion, brought the torch to land, handing it to Paralympic athlete Nantenin Keita, a 400 metres gold medallist at the Rio Games in 2016.
Keita then passed it on to French rapper Jul, the secret guest who lit the cauldron as an ecstatic crowd of spectators snapped pictures.
French President Emmanuel Macron attended the welcoming ceremony, which featured a concert and an airshow by the country's air force.
More than 6,000 law enforcement officers including snipers, and security dogs secured Marseille's Old Port, the most that has ever been mobilised in one day, for one event in France.
Another 200 security agents were assigned to travel with the flame on its 00-day relay from ancient Olympia in Greece where it was lit to Paris, the host city of the 2024 Olympic Games.
The Flame spent 12 days at sea, ending its Mediterranean odyssey in the south of France.
From Marseille, the torch will continue its journey across France and French overseas territories in the Caribbean as well as the Indian and Pacific oceans, culminating in Paris on July 26 for the opening ceremony.
The Olympic Flame was lit last month in Olympia, the ancient site of the first recorded Games.
About 11,000 torchbearers will carry the torch before reaching Paris for the games' opening ceremony.
As per tradition, once the Flame has been carried by any means imaginable to the host city, it kindles a cauldron that burns in the host Olympic stadium until the end of the games.
