Claim: The visuals depict the Lighting up of the Olympic torch from the Paris church for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On performing the reverse image search using the keyframes of the viral video, we found that the viral video contains two different video clips.
Moreover, the Olympic torch is traditionally lit in Olympia, Greece, at the site of the ancient Olympic Games.
Below is the comparison between the viral visuals and the Olympic torch, Paris 2024.
To sum up, scenes from a celebration in Florence church and a concert are as the lighting of the Olympic torch in Paris for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A video showing a flare being lit inside a cathedral, followed by fireworks outside, is being shared on social media (here, here, and here) claiming that these visuals depict the lighting of the Olympic torch from a church in Paris for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
The Archived post can be seen here.
Claim: The visuals depict the Lighting up of the Olympic torch from the Paris church for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fact: The viral video contains visuals from two different events. The first part shows the explosion of the Cart, which takes place every Easter Sunday in ‘Piazza del Duomo’ in Florence. The second part of the viral video shares the visuals from a concert by a band named Rammstein in Europe. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
Our initial observation noted that the video begins with a priest lighting a flare inside a cathedral, apparently during the day. The flame travels in a device towards the door, and then the scene shifts to nighttime fireworks outdoors. On performing the reverse image search using the keyframes of the viral video, we found that the viral video contains two different video clips. The initial keyframes led us to a video published by the Syracuse University Florence YouTube channel. This video was published on 4 April 2021 with the description “The Scoppio del Carro, or Explosion of the Cart, takes place every Easter Sunday in Piazza del Duomo in Florence, and its origins date to the First Crusade.”
Subsequent research led us to the official Florence city website describing this event. The “Brindellone,” a chariot of fire escorted by 150 soldiers, musicians, and standard-bearers from the Historical Procession of the Florentine Republic, is pulled by two teams of white-flowered oxen from Piazza Prato to Piazza del Duomo. The chariot is then placed between the Baptistery and the Cathedral. As the “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” is sung, the fuse of the columbine is lit, setting off firecrackers and fireworks arranged on the float. The website of the Florence Cathedral also describes this event on similar lines.
Upon further investigation of the second part of the video featuring outdoor fireworks, we found that these visuals, along with the same audio, were posted on TikTok in 2023 and on an Instagram page called “Rammstein.boss.” They were claimed to be from a concert by the German band Rammstein in Europe. Similar fireworks were used during their EU concert in 2023, as shown on Rammstein’s official social media pages (here and here). The logo displayed on the stage in the viral video also matches the band’s logo.
Below is the comparison between the Cart Explosion at the Florence church and the Fireworks at the concert.
Moreover, the Olympic torch is traditionally lit in Olympia, Greece, at the site of the ancient Olympic Games. The flame is then passed to the first torchbearer, who carries it on a relay to the host city of the Olympic Games. The visuals of the lighting ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics can be seen here, here, here and here. Below is the comparison between the viral visuals and the Olympic torch, Paris 2024.
To sum up, scenes from a celebration in Florence church and a concert are as the lighting of the Olympic torch in Paris for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
