Mexican actress Salma Hayek Pinault was a guest of honor in the official torch relay in Versailles on Tuesday ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Queen Salma Hayek has entered the Chateau de Versailles,” reads the caption of a series of photos published by the Paris Olympics Instagram account.
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The images show Hayek, 56, wearing the official Torch Relay uniform, consisting of a white track suit with orange detailing on the sleeves, and carrying the Olympic torch. In another video, Hayek appears next to French footballer and Paris Saint-Germain player Presnel Kimpembe, who also participated as a torchbearer.
The Mexican actress of Lebanese descent has deep ties to France. She has been married to French businessman Fracois-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of luxury group Kering and president of the investment holding group Artémis, since 2009.
“I represent everybody,” Hayek told the press. “I represent women, I represent Latinos, I represent Arabs, I represent middle-aged women, I represent housewives, mothers. But I also represent everyone who was ever told or made felt that they wouldn’t do anything with their lives. And every hardworking person. And I felt they were all with me as I was carrying the flame.”
The Oscar-nominated actress carried the torch from the Yvelines suburb of Versailles to the Palace of Versailles, joining the trainer of the France soccer national team Didier Deschamps and singer Patrick Bruel.
Hayek wasn’t the only celebrity participating in the relay. Other notable personalities included actress Halle Berry and F1 driver Charles Leclerc. The American rapper Snoop Dogg will carry the torch on Friday, July 26, the opening day of the Olympics. Other big names participating in the Olympics include Celine Dione and Lady Gaga, who will both perform at the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony will be held on the Seine River, the first time in history that an Olympics opening ceremony will take place in a venue other than a stadium.
The event will follow 85 boats carrying athletes from each Olympic delegation in a four-mile parade on the water. An ensemble of 3,500 actors, dancers and musical performers will put on a nautical show that will begin from the Pont d’Austerlitz and culminate at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
One hundred and nine athletes will represent Mexico at the 2024 Olympics, placing the country within the top 20 countries with the most participants.
