The historic intersection of elite motorsport and global Olympic heritage was brought back into sharp focus as the Principality marked the anniversary of the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay’s passage through its streets.
On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, Monaco welcomed Olympic Flame for only the second time in its history, following its initial visit 56 years earlier in 1968. The event drew large crowds to the public corridors and paving stones that typically serve as the racetrack for the annual Monaco Grand Prix.
The honor of acting as the very first torchbearer for the Monégasque leg of the relay was given to the nation's premier racing hero, Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Mr. Leclerc had won his home Formula 1 race at the Monaco Grand Prix just weeks prior in May. Dressed in official white athletic attire bearing the designation E161, he initiated his segment of the trek at 2:15 p.m. in front of the statue of legendary racer Juan Manuel Fangio on Port Hercule.
The flame traversed a route sustained by a lineup of local sports figures. From Mr. Leclerc, the torch was passed to alpine skier Alexandra Coletti. Ms. Coletti then transferred the flame to table tennis player Xiaoxin Yang. The climb up toward the historic Le Rocher was sustained by bobsledder Rudy Rinaldi.
The relay culminated at the Prince’s Palace. There, H.S.H. Prince Albert II - an athlete who competed in five consecutive Winter Olympics from 1988 to 2002 as a member of the Principality's bobsleigh team - received the flame alongside H.S.H. Princess Charlene, a former Olympic swimmer who competed in the 2000 Sydney Games. The royal couple presented the torch, cementing the sovereign family's long-standing institutional commitment to the Olympic movement.
Photo credit: Automobile Club de Monaco Instagram