The Paris 2024 Olympic flame sailed for France on Saturday on board a three-masted ship to mark the final sprint of preparations ahead of the Olympic Games opening ceremony on July 26. The "Belem" left the port of Piraeus in the morning for an 11-day voyage and will arrive in the southern city of Marseille,

A three-masted sailing ship, Balem, has carried the Olympic flame through the Corinth Canal on a journey designed to reflect the shared history between France and Greece.

The Olympic flame set sail on Saturday on its voyage to France on board the Belem, the Torch Relay reaching its climax at the revolutionary Paris Games opening ceremony along the river Seine on July 26.

The mission of transporting the Olympic flame on the first leg of its journey to the opening ceremony in Paris was given to one of the France’s most venerable sailing ships, the Belem, built in 1896.

The Olympic flame on Saturday began its journey to France on board the Belem leaving the Greek port of Piraeus after spending the night at the French embassy in Athens. The 19th-century three-masted boat was accompanied off the port of Piraeus by the trireme Olympias of the Greek Navy and 25 sailing boats while dozens of people watched behind railings for security reasons.