‘It’s about connecting with people’: Olympic torch relay highlight

Following the arrival of the flame in the Old Port this Wednesday, the 69-day relay that will carry the sacred flame until the opening of the Paris Olympic Games on July 26 will actually begin on French soil this Thursday in Marseille.

Event sponsor The Coca-Cola Company is hosting numerous celebrations, starting with The Sopranos concert on May 8th. Atlanta-based Canadian Tim Dignard, director of sports partnerships and operations for Coca-Cola, explains how unifying the event can be.

You have worked on several torch relays. What’s special about them?

TIM DIGNARD. My first Games were in Vancouver in 2010. Then I worked on the organizing committee. On opening day, I was in the office and the flames came out. We had been working on the project for several months, and as soon as we came out to see the passage, I wanted to cry because the emotions were so strong. Regardless of the host country, this is a unique moment, and we often see the most powerful and iconic moments in this torch relay.

What does the relay represent for Coca-Cola, the sponsor of the event?

Our team in France is doing great work for Paris 2024. The flames that are beginning to engulf France are efforts that are bearing fruit. Preparing for Paris 2024 is a marathon, not a sprint, and the magic of the relay provides that boost of energy that propels you into the Games. As a historic partner of the Olympic Games, we have an important role to play in ensuring the great success of the 2024 Games in Paris. We, the sponsors, are also here to create magical experiences that people will remember for a lifetime.

Did one relay affect you more than the other?

I remember Rio 2016. We went to a small village in the north of the country, not knowing whether people would come. We arrived in this tiny village, and everything was ready: signs, T-shirts in the right color. Local residents even created their own torches.

It was a really special event because most people had never seen anything like this before and everyone was running alongside the aircraft carrier. They thanked us for bringing the flame.

It’s about creating those connections with people, those moments that they will never forget, and that’s really what’s so important to us. That’s why we do this work, to create magical experiences for people that they will remember for a lifetime.

Will the security concerns that are currently very strong in the torch relay affect the magic?

The Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, the French state and the police are wonderful partners with whom we are working closely on this very important issue. We follow their instructions and safety always comes first in all our relay plans, but we know we are in good hands.

Do you talk a lot about flames between colleagues?

This is truly something special and different within our Olympic partnership and staff are proud to be part of this project. Internally, we talk a lot about Barcelona 1992, the first relay of which we were partners, and everyone knows that Paris 2024 will be the 15th time we will accompany the flame.

Even the people of Atlanta (Coca-Cola headquarters) they still talk about 1996 and memories of the flame passing in front of their house or the opening ceremony during which Muhammad Ali lit the cauldron. I’m also talking to a lot of Americans and there’s a lot of excitement around Paris 2024, people can’t wait to come to France.

Many of them are planning to come to the Games in France because they love this country and have always dreamed of visiting Paris. So these Olympic and Paralympic Games are a great opportunity to come.

What do you want to say to the French who were not convinced by the Games?

Carry on, because hosting the Olympic Games in your country is truly unique and you will feel extremely proud to be French. The Games begin with the torch relay and this is a great opportunity for all French people to experience the magic of the Games. I promise, if you go, you won’t regret it!