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Day: 17 June 2024

Roads closed and pedestrian access to be limited during Olympic torch visit

by: Elsa Carpenter
17/06/2024
olympic torch visit to monaco

Travel in the areas surrounding Port Hercule, the Marché de la Condamine and the Rock of Monaco will be significantly impacted by the Olympic torch’s tour of the Principality on 18th June. Here is all the information that road users and pedestrians should be aware of.  

On Tuesday 18th June, the Principality will be welcoming the Olympic flame back to its boulevards and avenues for the first time since 1968, when the torch passed through the region ahead of the Winter Olympics in Grenoble.  

See more: Prince Albert, Princess Charlene and Charles Leclerc among Monaco’s Olympic torchbearers

Though the visit will only last a brief 30 minutes, between 2.15pm and 2.45pm, the ramifications of such a momentous occasion will be felt by road users and pedestrians for considerably longer.  

On the roads 

The following roads will be closed to traffic between 1pm and 3pm on the day of the event: 

Avenue de la Quarantaine, from No.13 to the intersection with Avenue du Port; Avenue du Port; the Serravalle Tunnel; Place d’Armes; Rue des Açores; Rue de Millo; Rue Saige; Rue Terrazzani; Avenue de la Porte Neuve; Avenue des Pins; Place de la Visitation; Rue Philibert Florence; Rue des Remparts; Place du Palais; Rue Colonel Bellando de Castro; and Avenue Saint-Martin. 

The electric vehicle recharging station on Avenue de la Quarantaine will close for the same period as will the MonaBike electric bicycle stations in Place d’Armes and the Place du Palais.

See more: The Olympic flame is coming to Monaco

Street parking on the following roads will be prohibited to all vehicles between 11pm on Monday 17th June and 4pm on Tuesday 18th June: 

Quai Antoine Ier; Avenue de la Quarantaine; Avenue du Port; Rue des Açores; Rue de Millo; Rue Saige; Rue Terrazzani; Avenue des Pins; Rue Philibert Florence; Rue des Remparts; Rue Colonel Bellando de Castro; and Avenue Saint-Martin. 

Though entry to the Place d’Armes and Condamine carparks will be off-limits during the event, drivers will still be able to use the Quai Antoine Ier, La Digue and Chemin des Pêcheurs carparks albeit via a diverted route. 

Pedestrian access and limitations 

Spectators keen to witness the Olympic torch’s tour through Monaco will be able to watch the event from several points along the route, including at the start line by the Juan Manuel Fangio statue in Port Hercule, along the Avenue du Port, at the Place du Marché corner and in the Place du Palais, but pedestrian access will be somewhat limited elsewhere on the route. 

Between 1pm and 2.45pm, pedestrians will be unable to access the Rampe Major leading up to the Rock, meaning that those who want to watch the flame arrive in the Place du Palais will need to be there well ahead of time. The pedestrian crossing, such as the passage on Avenue de la Porte Neuve, will be closed between 2pm and 2.45pm.  

Spectators should also expect filtering points with bag checks and other similar security measures.  

Buses affected  

For detailed information on the effects the event will have on bus travel in the Principality, notably on the local Compagnie Autobus de Monaco and French regional Zou ! networks, click here.  

Read related:

When and where to see the Olympic flame in the Riviera

 

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Photo credit: Palais Princier de Monaco

When and where to see the Olympic flame in the Riviera

by: Elsa Carpenter
17/06/2024

In just under two weeks’ time, the Olympic torch will arrive in the French Riviera for a tour of seven towns and cities in the Alpes-Maritimes. Here’s all the information you need to know if you’re hoping to be a part of this historic occasion. 

The Olympic flame will be beginning its tour of the Alpes-Maritimes in Villefranche-sur-Mer at 8.05am. Alice Modolo, a free-diving world record holder, has been given the honour of carrying the torch for this section of the relay, which will conclude at 8.35am at the Citadelle. 

Then the flame will be heading to Grasse for a 9am depart from the Cours Honoré-Cresp. Michelin-starred Chef Jacques Chibois of the Bastide Sainte-Antoine will trace a route to the Stade Louis Perdigon with the torch in-hand over the next 50 or so minutes. 

Next comes a visit to Cannes. Carried initially by former Paralympic athlete Alexandre Farrugia, the Olympic torch will leave the Chateau de la Castres just before 11.30am. Three additional sportsmen and women from the city will be given the honour of transporting the eternal flame along a route of 3km through the city to the Base Nautique de Moure Rouge via the Palais des Festivals. 

Into the hinterland 

From there, the flame will head inland to the mountain resort of Valberg, where it will be picked up by Olympic medallist and snowboarder Julia Pereira de Sousa-Mabileau at 1.18pm. A bicycle stage from nearby Launes to Beuil’s Place Charles Ginésy will conclude the first mountain sector of the Alpes-Maritimes route at 1.38pm. 

The fifth stage will see the Olympic torch travel back down to the coast. Antibes-Juan-les-Pins will welcome the flame to the Pinède in Juan-les-Pins shortly after 3pm. Several local personalities from the worlds of sports and culture will then exchange the torch over a 4.9km route through Antibes, a city that is officially twinned with Olympia in Greece. The torch is due to arrive at the Stade du Fort Carré at 4.22pm. 

Then it is back into the mountains for a depart from the zipline in La Colmiane at 4.33pm. Judo’s 2013 World Champion Loïc Pietri is expected to fly down the country’s longest zipline at speeds of 120kmph to deposit the flame at the Ecole des Neiges et d’Altitude 20 minutes later.  

Grand finale in Nice 

The celebrations in Nice will begin ahead of the flame’s arrival in the city, which is being projected for 5.56pm on the Avenue des Grenouillères.  

A fan zone on the Quai des Etats-Unis will be open to the public from 3.30pm until 7.45pm and will feature an array of sporting events, games and activities for all ages alongside live music and special Olympics-themed shows.  

Ultra trial star Sébastien Camus will begin the flame’s voyage through Nice, with other athletes expected to join him along the route on the Promenade des Anglais via the Quai des Ponchettes. 

The Olympic cauldron will be formally ignited at 7.30pm.  

Following its stint in the Alpes-Maritimes, the torch will then proceed on to Vaucluse and the Drôme.  

For further details on the route, click here.

 

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Photo source: Paris 2024, Facebook

 

 

* Article originally published on 5th June 2024