Once upon a time, the old three-mast barque Belem brought the torch from Greece to Marseille.
As the Belem got closer to Marseille harbor, more than 1,000 boats followed it. Bagpipes and sirens rang to let everyone know that the torch had arrived.
All of the people came together at the Old Port in the bright sunlight.
An estimated 150,000 people were going to be there to see the light come onshore after the ship docks on a platform that looks like a running track.
French TV will show the show live, and it will end with fireworks and a free concert.
“We are very proud,” said Benoit Payan, mayor of Marseille. “This is where everything starts.”
After Marseille, the torch will begin a 12,000 km journey through towns and villages across the country. It will arrive in Paris on July 26 in time for the opening ceremony of the Games.
It will go to the Palace of Versailles, the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy, and Mont Saint-Michel on its trip.
Even though the event is in Marseille 79 days before the Games start, the organizers hope it will fuel interest.
The head of the Olympics organizing group, Tony Estanguet, said, “Bringing the Games back to our country will be a great celebration.”
Last month, the torch was lit in Greece and then given to France. The first ship to carry it was the Belem, which sailed from Athens and met it 12 days later.
Myth says that Greek sailors created Marseille in 600 BC.
“We will tell the story of how these Greek sailors helped build this city through the arrival of the flame,” Mr. Payan said.
The French Air Force’s Patrouille de France flying team put on a show as part of the welcome celebration.
The first person in France to carry the torch will be Florent Manaudou, an Olympic diver.
It is the brother of swimmer Laure Manaudou, who won three Olympic medals in Athens in 2004. Manaudou got four medals at the Olympics.
The very well planned entrance ceremony was also a big test for the police and fire departments.
There were a lot of cops and soldiers in the center of Marseille.
Security concerns include “the terrorist threat,” according to Camille Chaize, a spokesperson for the French Interior Ministry.
“We are using a number of methods, including the elite National Gendarmerie Intervention Group unit, which will be at the torch relay from start to finish,” she said.
The official start of the Olympics will be on July 26 on the River Seine, where the torch will be lit.