The arrival of the Olympic torch in France on 8 May will be accompanied by a huge nautical parade along the coastline of the city of Marseille, which could involve more than a thousand boats, the Maritime Prefecture of the Mediterranean announced on Monday.

Boats wishing to take part can register on the Olympic Flame Route website until mid-April and will be able to experience the Olympic spirit in the Mediterranean free of charge. The event will last around five hours and is limited to 1,024 places, which can be registered up to 15 days in advance.

"The aim is for this event to be festive, with lots of people on the water watching the parade, but safety is paramount," explained Vice Admiral Gilles Boidevezi, Prefect of the Mediterranean Sea, recalling that two people died when a boat capsized during the arrival of the Route du Rhum in 2022.

The boats taking part in the Olympic parade must, of course, meet certain criteria: semi-rigid boats must have a maximum power of 250 hp, as must motor boats with a maximum length of 24 metres. 

Sailing boats must not exceed 41 metres without overshadowing the star boat, the three-masted Belem (58 metres), built in Nantes in 1896, which will have the honour of carrying the torch from its departure from Athens on 26 April. 

After landing on French soil on the coast of Marseilles on 8 May, the torch will embark on an 80-day journey across France, culminating in the opening of the Paris Games on 26 July with the lighting of the official cauldron of the thirty-third modern Olympic Games, the third Summer Olympic Games to be held on French soil.