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InvestigationThe American giant, the Olympic torch relay's official sponsor, has enjoyed a close relationship with the IOC for nearly a century. Despite health and plastic pollution concerns, the partnership has become so close that it's hard to say who runs the Games.
Samia Ghali was more than a little bit proud. That April morning, in the heights of Marseille, the deputy mayor in charge of major events was savoring the moment at her spacious office at the Palais du Pharo overlooking the city's sun-drenched Vieux-Port. The big day was fast approaching. On Wednesday, May 8, Marseille would welcome the Olympic torch from Greece. The elected official was thrilled about this "pre-opening of the Games," which are set to kick off on July 26: "Marseille will light up France and the world with the arrival of the flame, which can only happen in this way here."
To hear her tell it, when Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris 2024 organization, announced a year and a half ago that Marseille would be the first French city to host the flame, the former senator, who grew up in the city's infamous northern suburbs, had a lot to do with it. "About two years ago, I put the pressure on," she said. "Okay, we had the sailing events, but sailing isn't sexy. It's not popular; an untrained spectator can't understand it. I said: 'We need something to make the people of Marseille connect to these Games'."
Read more Subscribers only Paris 2024: Marseille's northern districts, so close and yet so far from the Olympics
Ghali knew the schedule for May 8 by heart. First, a 19th-century, three-masted ship, the Belem, would arrive in the harbor, accompanied by a thousand boats. The flame would then be ceremoniously unloaded onto solid ground, followed by a free concert, with 150,000 people expected to attend. Finally, shortly before midnight, a fireworks display would bring the celebrations to a close.
A 'Coca-Cola land' in the city of pastis
Some 700 kilometers away, another woman was brimming with enthusiasm. Claire Revenu, Coca-Cola France's general manager for Paris 2024, took on the tone of a televangelist to evoke "the magic of the Games." That April evening in Paris, she had invited the media to a former fire station near the Gare de l'Est train station, which had been converted into a trendy third place-style venue. To lure guests in, the event included a promise to reveal the artists who would perform at the "Coca-Cola concert" – its official title – scheduled for May 8 on the Fraternité wharf in the Vieux-Port.
Unfortunately, the secret got out: Twelve days before this press conference, the newspaper La Provence leaked the name of the show's main headliner, the rapper Soprano, a Marseille local. However, that didn't faze Coca-Cola's "Mrs. Olympics," who announced the presence of another rapper, Alonzo. "What is the magic of Coca-Cola? It's about letting the French experience a unique moment," said Revenu.
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