Paris Olympics: US rapper Snoop Dogg to carry torch 'to bridge gap with Los Angeles 2028'

Like the Californian city, Saint-Denis is a diverse neighbourhood and it seeks to use the Games to become a hot spot for urban culture

Saint-Denis officials hope the presence of Snoop Dogg, pictured modelling a Team USA Olympics outfit, will raise the profile of the area. Getty Images

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US rapper Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic torch through an impoverished suburb of Paris on Friday in what a senior local official has described as a bridge with the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles in four years.

“You'll see him [Snoop Dogg] around the Stade de France between 11am and 11.30am,” Saint-Denis Mayor Mathieu Hanotin told The National.

“We want to make a bridge between Saint-Denis and Los Angeles. Snoop Dogg said yes to our invitation, and we're very proud of that.”

Los Angeles native Snoop Dogg, 52, is a cultural icon of the kind that Saint-Denis wants to attract to raise its profile around the world.

The ethnically diverse commune in northern Paris was the birthplace of rap and hip-hop in France in the 1980s, launching the careers of superstars such as Kool Shen and JoeyStarr.

But poverty and crime have given it a poor reputation that it hopes to shed by stepping into the limelight with the Olympic Games.

Local officials want to promote the image of Saint-Denis as a hot spot for urban culture, similar to Los Angeles.

Ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, it has hosted events promoting breakdancing, which was added for the first time as a new sport at the Paris 2024 Summer Games. It has been grouped as one of four urban sports.

A 25,000 dedicated venue at the Place de la Concorde, converted into the “Parc Urbain”, hosts action in four disciplines: 3x3 basketball, breaking, BMX freestyle and skateboarding.

The wider area of Seine Saint-Denis will be the last stop before the Olympic torch reaches Paris for the opening ceremony on Friday and will also host competitions at the Stade de France, the Athletes' Village and the Media Village.

“To be honest, we don't have a very good reputation currently and we want to change this,” Mr Hanotin said.

“We'll be the heart of the metropolitan area and the Olympic Games is the best way to show that to the world.”

Snoop Dogg will be one of several celebrities carrying the torch through Seine Saint-Denis. Retired Ukrainian pole vaulting legend Sergey Bubka – who won Olympic gold and broke the world record 35 times – and French actress Laetitia Casta are also expected in the rally, which will also feature local community leaders.

Lesser-known torchbearers expressed their awe and excitement at taking part in the high-profile event.

Nathalie Dugnet, 44, remembers feeling overwhelmed when she was informed she would be among those chosen to carry the Olympic torch.

“I thought wow, I'll be like Snoop Dogg, I'll be like [actor] Jamel Debbouze, I will be like Laetitia Casta. It's very magical,” she said.

Ms Dugnet, who heads an association that teaches swimming to people with disabilities, said she would carry the torch for 200 metres in her hometown of Noisy-Le-Grand.

“Seine Saint-Denis does not have a good image, but we have young people who are very dynamic, positive and enthusiastic, and I think this is the moment to show it,” she said.