“A moment of history”: the French heroes of the Winter Olympics meet the public on Monday in Albertville

From all the Italian sites to another Olympic city: the French heroes of the fortnight are back home. The French medalists from the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games are expected this Monday in Albertville (Savoie), capital of the 1992 Winter Games. “In order to celebrate its return to France, 34 years later, the French delegation is meeting as many people as possible in this emblematic place of French Olympic history for a moment of celebration and communion” rejoices in advance the national Olympic committee (CNOSF).

The day after the closing ceremony and undoubtedly after a short night of festivities, the French delegation returned to France weighed down by 23 medals: 8 in gold, 9 in silver and 6 in bronze. Of the 162 athletes who crossed the Alps, twenty returned with a reward around their neck, between individual, team or couples performances.

Some medalists have resumed their lives, already oriented towards the next competitions to come. Not everyone will perhaps be there in Albertville. But all the biathlon heroes have promised to be there, starting with the most medal-winning of all in history, Quentin Fillon Maillet.

With all his friends, he will receive at the Albertville Olympic Park an ovation worthy of his achievements because the event is public, free and open to all with a limit of 6,500 places by reservation. “This is the second initiative of this type in honor of a Winter Games delegation, after that at the end of the Pyeongchang 2018 Games and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Grenoble 1968 Games. The sequence brought together nearly 4,000 people in the Isère prefecture,” recalls the CNOSF. After Beijing 4 years ago, the Covid pandemic did not allow such a meeting.

Called “The Great Return”, the day also has a symbolic significance: the return to France of the 5-ringed flag, handed over at dusk of the closing ceremony by the organizers of Milan-Cortina to those of the French Alps 2030. “We will experience a moment of history and transmission. Welcoming our delegation and seeing the Olympic flag return to the French Alps will be a powerful symbol,” rejoices Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, president of the CNOSF.

At the Albertville Olympic Park, the “Great Return” will be structured around several highlights: the legacy of the 1992 Games with actors from the time, a communion with fans of the French team and the celebration of the medalists already looking ahead to 2030. “The legendary Albertville Olympic mast will have the honor of receiving, for the 2030 Alps Games, the Olympic flag, a universal symbol. Around this emblem, its shapes and colors will come alive in a light show, with the allegory of the flame and the medals, the myth of the events on snow and ice, the participation of the competitors and the applause of the public, in the middle of the resplendent mountain landscapes,” the organizers anticipate. The Winter Games already organized in France (Chamonix 1924, Grenoble 1968, Albertville 1992) will also be in the spotlight.

Broadcast on France TV, the festivities will begin at 5 p.m. and run until 10:15 p.m. Free registrations on the website https://lien.franceolympique.com/billetterie subject to availability.