The dawn of April 7, 2022, in Suva, Fiji, marked the end of the 24-hour Terre de Jeux Relay, organised by the French diplomatic network to celebrate sport and signpost Paris 2024, which will welcome athletes of the world to the City of Lights or La Ville Lumièr in just two years’ time.
Also known as the City of Love, Paris, which is host to the 2024 Summer Olympics, is set to be a celebration of sport and culture.
Led by ONOC President, Dr Robin Mitchell, the Oceania National Olympic Committees joined Ambassador Francois-Xavier Leger, French ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu, and the Fiji Association of Sport and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) in a 10-km run-a-thon in the Fijian capital to begin the global relay.
ONOC President, Dr Robin Mitchell, spoke about the contribution of sport to development and peace, on International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, underscoring his message with the point that sport is what it means to be human. As part of the key message, President Mitchell paid tribute to founder of the modern Olympics, the French educator and reformist, Pierre de Coubertin, whose legacy still resonates today.
.jpg)
Mitchell was joined by Ambassador Leger who relayed the message of sport being a cultural pursuit that the Terre de Jeux Relay highlights in celebration of the United Nations’-designated April 6 as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) since 2014.
Ambassador Leger also said that April 6 was the date of the first modern-day Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, a celebration which is now the largest celebration of sport globally.
FASANOC Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, Lorraine Mar, shared the message of peace as a critical component of sport in communities, citing its application as a peace-building tool in the Pacific Islands.
Mar also paid tribute to all athletes who participated in the Suva, Fiji leg of the Terre de Jeux Relay.
From Suva, the Terre de Jeux Relay moved to Australia and circled the globe to end in Tahiti, which is earmarked to be the Paris 2024 venue for the aquatic sport, surfing.
The run-a-thon featured the Embassy of France in Fiji, FASANOC, Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Fiji Disabled People’s Federation, Fiji’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the French business community in Fiji, New Caledonia’s representative to Fiji, Ms Rose Wete, athletes of Fiji, and ONOC staff.
The White Card campaign
This year, the theme of the #WhiteCard campaign wass “Sport is an answer, raise your #WhiteCard”, and ONOC and FASANOC joined the global sporting community to send a message for peace in these troubled times.
