Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic torch on final stages through Paris

Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic torch through the final stages when it passes through Paris before the opening ceremony on Friday.

The US rapper will be hoping he won’t Drop It Like It’s Hot when he holds the torch in Saint-Denis to mark the start of the 33rd Games.

Snoop is in the French capital as a special correspondent for the US TV network NBC.

The 52-year-old, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr, posted a photo on X on Tuesday of himself standing outside the city hall Hotel de Ville with the caption: “U Ready? Paris 2024 Olympics ya digggg”, with gold medal and boxing glove emojis.

The rapper, who has more than 20 million followers on X, also wrote: “U gots to do it!! Will u be watchin?? #FollowTheDogg #ParisOlympics.”

The Saint-Denis mayor, Mathieu Hanotin, wrote on X that after Snoop carries the torch, there will be a concert by French 2024 Eurovision singer Slimane in front of the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis. He added it would be the “last step before the Eiffel Tower”.

Snoop, who was born in Los Angeles – host of the 1932, 1984 and 2028 Games – limbered up for his Olympic stint by posting a time of 34.44 seconds over 200 metres during a special exhibition race at the US trials in Oregon last month.

The torch was lit in Greece in April at the site of ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Games, before being carried across France by a relay of runners.

The opening ceremony will be held on the River Seine on Friday night, with the athletes parading on boats.

Other hip-hop musicians who carried the Olympic torch during previous Games include Sean “Diddy” Combs for the 2004 Athens Olympics, while the British rapper Dizzee Rascal and the Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am were involved in the buildup to London 2012.

The 68th stage of the torch relay will see it travel through the Olympic Village and past the Aquatics Centre and the Stade de France, before it is taken to the banks of the Seine.