Brussels, 9 May 2024 (dpa/MIA) — The Olympic flame arrived in the southern French city of Marseille on Wednesday, some 11 weeks before the start of the 2024 Paris Games, on board of the three-mast ship Belem.

The flame was welcomed with a ceremony, which included fireworks and and a French Air force flyover with planes drawing the five Olympic rings and the red-blue-white colours of the French flag.

The torch was then handed over to the first Olympic torch carrier, swimmer Florent Manaudou.

According broadcasters BFM, 120,000 people watched the spectacle in the harbour and French President Emmanuel Macron was also in attendance.

The flame was lit in Greece last month before it was handed to France and spent 12 days at sea.

From Marseille, the flame will travel across France and stops on the torch relay will include the memorial sites of the two world wars in Verdun and Normandy, the Versailles Palace, the Lascaux Cave and the castles in the Loire Valley.

The French overseas territories will also be visited before the flame reaches the capital Paris.

The Olympic Games will take place from July 26 to August 11.