LBC’s Snoop Dogg to carry torch at Paris Olympics
The legendary rapper is one of the final torchbearers before the flame lights the Olympic cauldron Friday.
Iconic Long Beach hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg is set to be one of the final bearers of the Olympic flame on its journey to Paris for the 2024 Games.
The gangsta rap legend will carry the flame through Saint-Denis Friday, the town’s mayor Mathieu Hanotin announced Tuesday.
“Saint-Denis, the final stop before the Eiffel Tower! An international cast @SnoopDogg for the final journey of the Olympic flame,” Hanotin wrote, adding that the festivities will include a concert from French singer-songwriter Slimane.
Saint-Denis, ultime étape avant la Tour Eiffel !
— Mathieu Hanotin (@MathieuHanotin) July 23, 2024
Un casting international @SnoopDogg
pour le dernier parcours de la flamme olympique. Avec un concert de @Slimaneoff en point d'orgue de cette journée, en direct sur @FranceTV depuis le parvis de la Basilique.
In @lemondefr ↘️ pic.twitter.com/CmmiyXucm9
The American rapper will be joined by French actress Laetitia Casta, French rapper MC Solaar and retired Ukrainian pole-vaulter Sergey Bubka on the stretch before the torch is handed off to the final bearer who will ignite the cauldron during the opening ceremony Friday.
Snoop was born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. in Long Beach in 1971. He attended Poly High School before rising to fame in the early 1990s, dropping some of the most iconic West Coast hip-hop and gangsta rap albums starting with “Doggystyle” in November 1993.
Today, Snoop has released nearly 30 studio and collab albums and has guest spots on an untold number of tracks.
Online, posting screenshots of the announcement, Snoop wrote, “U gots to do it!!”
U gots to do it!! 👊🏿🇺🇸🔥🔥🏃🏿🥇🇫🇷 Will u be watchin?? #FollowTheDogg #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/3l12Cj74Cp
— Snoop Dogg (@SnoopDogg) July 23, 2024
In addition to his torchbearer duties, Snoop will serve as a special correspondent for NBC at the Games.
“Long Beach will be well represented at Paris ’24,” Mayor Rex Richardson said on social media. “We see you Big @SnoopDogg!”
Long Beach will be well represented at Paris ‘24. We see you Big @SnoopDogg!
— Office of Mayor Rex Richardson (@LongBeachMayor) July 23, 2024
We’re getting our summer games ready for @LA28, coming to the #LBC. https://t.co/JMKhlxw1rr
Richardson also noted that Long Beach is preparing to host numerous events when the Olympics return to Los Angeles in 2028.
An avid sports fan who has become a household name, Snoop’s commentating skills shined during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when he and comedian Kevin Hart went through highlights from various events. Snoop famously said a horse appeared to be Crip Walking during the dressage event.
“That’s gangsta as a motherf—er. This horse is off the chain, I need to get this motherf—er in a video,” Snoop said as Hart laughed.
The Olympic torch was lit on April 15 in Olympia, where the Games originated 2,800 years ago. The ancient games were staged in Olympia from 776 BC through 393 AD. Athens hosted the first modern olympics in 1896.
The torch relayed through Greece and arrived at the French port of Marseille on May 8. Since then, it has been carried through various regions of the country. Snoop will take part in the 67th leg, the final one of the journey before the yet-to-be-named final torchbearer carries the flame into the opening ceremony, which is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. PT.
The torch tradition symbolizes “peace and friendship among nations since antiquity,” according to the International Olympic Committee.
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