Drumming up support

The tradition of carrying the Olympic Flame from Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games to the host city of the modern edition via a torch relay was first introduced in 1936 and has proved a symbolic moment ever since.

Daisy Zhang from Chongqing*,* People’s Republic of China**, spoke to Olympics.com** days before the start of the XXXIII Olympiad. The student cited the incredible Opening Ceremony at Beijing 2008 as her favourite, particularly the drummers that live long in the memory of many a sports fan.

Canadian Christina Huang, who was in Paris with her family, extending a stopover after spending three weeks in Shanghai, immediately cited a smile-inducing moment from London 2012 as her pick.

“Oh gosh, the London Olympics and the scene with the Queen. I mean how can you not,” she said with a laugh.

Huang is recalling the moment when the late Queen Elizabeth II jumped out of a helicopter into the London Olympic Stadium alongside James Bond – spoiler alert, they were stunt performers – but so secret was the moment that the Queen had not even told her grandsons, the then titled Prince William and Prince Harry, about her grand entrance to the Games.

London 2012 also saw a unique moment when seven young promising athletes were chosen to light the Olympic flame.

Two of those athletes, Desiree Henry, a bronze medallist in the 4x100metres from the Olympic Games Rio 2016, and Adelle Tracey, now representing Jamaica, take to their nation’s barges on the Seine as both are competing at Paris 2024, representing the ongoing legacy of the Olympic Games.