After the successes of previous editions, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs is organizing the 5th edition of the Relay around the World on April 2nd.
Thanks to the collective mobilization of the French diplomatic network, the Relay around the World has become a highlight of French sports diplomacy internationally. Each participating embassy or consulate is responsible for organizing a sports event from 9 am to 10 am local time before passing the baton to the next time zone, ensuring that the relay will last 24 hours, from New Zealand to Los Angeles.
The Paris 2024 Games have shown how sports can build bridges and bring people together, regardless of their origins, beliefs, or convictions. The Relay around the World symbolizes this desire to gather around essential values (friendship, respect, excellence for Olympic values; determination, equality, inspiration, and courage for Paralympic values).
In a fragmented world, it is more important than ever to keep alive the ‘Spirit of the Games’ and the spirit of sport, a spirit of fraternity, cohesion, and inclusion. This year, the relay will once again showcase the sports actions and collaborations carried out around the world by the French diplomatic network and the entire ‘Team France’. The enthusiasm surrounding this relay (with 60 participating posts) demonstrates our collective ability to mobilize our staff, expatriate communities, our network abroad, local sports ecosystems in line with the momentum of the Paris 2024 Games and in view of the 2030 Winter Games in the Alps.
For example, our embassy in Angola will bring together students from 6 schools in Luanda for 3×3 basketball tournaments, 5-a-side football, athletics, culminating in medal and certificate presentations to the young participants. The embassy in Vietnam will focus on skating with the exceptional presence of Surya Bonaly; the embassy in Berlin will bring together the entire German sports ecosystem and the network of French-speaking embassies for a big march in Tiergarten; the embassy in Costa Rica will host a large public event, especially for the younger generation, to discover petanque, zumba, rugby, balance bikes, and athletics.
The Paris stage of the Relay honors France’s determination to organize the biggest sports events, including the biggest cycling events, from the Tour de France to the World Cycling Championships in Savoie in 2027. MEAE officials, officials from the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Community Life, the Swiss Embassy (which will host the Grand Depart of the Women’s Tour this summer), and the AEFE will come together on bicycles to show their commitment to a more united world through sports.
In 2025, the Relay brought together 69 embassies, consulates general, and overseas territories with a total of over 10,000 participants! Here is the link to the video of the 2025 Relay: [Watch Relay 2025 Video]
