‘Ya digggg?’ Snoop Dogg to carry Olympic torch in final stages of relay

Snoop Dogg will carry the Olympic torch in the final stages of the relay when it passes through the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Friday.

The American rapper, whose decades of hits include What’s My Name and Drop It Like It’s Hot, is in the French capital as a special correspondent for American TV network NBC.

Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr, posted a photo on X, formerly Twitter, 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.

Last month the 52-year-old rapper, who was born in Los Angeles, the city hosting the 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.

Saint-Denis mayor Mathieu Hanotin wrote on X that after Snoop carries the torch, there will be a concert by French 2024 Eurovision star Slimane in front of the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis.

He also said that it would be the “last step before the Eiffel Tower”.

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

The opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games will be held on the Seine on Friday night, with the athletes parading on boats up the central Paris river.

Other rappers have carried the Olympic torch during previous games.

American Sean “Diddy” Combs had the honour for the 2004 Athens Olympics, while British musician Dizzee Rascal and Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am were involved in the build-up to London 2012.

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