Marseille will be the gateway to the Olympic flame on French territory on May 8th. The large Provençal city will host the first test events from July 9th to 16th, which should allow the organizers of the 2024 Olympic Games to check their level of preparation.

The Roucas-Blanc Olympic base will host just over 1,200 people for eight days, including 350 athletes from 55 countries.

They will compete in the ten disciplines of Olympic sailing: Ilca 6 (women) and 7 (men), 470 (mixed dinghy), single sculls 49er (men) and 49er FX (women), Nacra 17 (catamaran foil, mixed) , IQFoil (windsurfing, men and women) and Kite-Foil (foil pulled by a kite, men and women).

More will follow, for example with the triathlon in Paris in August, but it all starts on Sunday in the port of Marseille, almost a year before the Games, which will take place from July 26th to August 11th.

The aim of a test event is to train the organizing teams and to test sporting, medical, technical and technological aspectsexplained Cédric Dufoix, Manager of the Marseille and Nice sites for Paris-2024.

While there will be no Olympic signage or publicity, even if people can watch the show from the beaches or the rocky outcrop overlooking the sea, the event will look very similar to what will be held at the same location a year from now .

The safety device at sea, identical to that planned for 2024, will also be tested, with a large area forbidden to all boats from this Friday until July 16. The five Olympic sailing areas are marked on this panel, three of which are very close to the coast.

Restrictive, the device has caused dissatisfaction among swimmers and fishermen in Marseille, although it was introduced after much deliberation and leaves some freedom for swimmers and kayaking or paddling enthusiasts, even during competition times.

For the participants, the opportunity is indeed a great opportunity to show they are competitive in regattas where each country has only one representative per discipline, which will not necessarily be the same at the Olympics.