Louvre opens galleries for physical activities and the Olympics | olympics

The Louvre opened the doors of its galleries for the Paris Olympics. In an Olympic Games program to unite sport and French culture, the largest museum in the world will offer yoga, dance and physical fitness classes. Until the end of May, Parisians will be able to practice physical activities among works of art.

– The Louvre is physically in the center of Paris. It will physically be the center of the Olympics – Laurence des Cars, head of the museum.

The first classes were held on Wednesday. The students did four short sessions of four physical activities in the so-called “Louvre Race”. At the Cour Marly gallery, participants practiced yoga among the sculptures that decorated the castle of French King Louis XIV, in the 17th century. At Cour Khorsabad, it was the turn of dancehall, a dance of Jamaican origin. At Cour Carytides, among 16th century statues of King Henry IV, the class was disco, a popular rhythm from the 1970s. Finally, physical fitness with cardiorespiratory exercises next to the walls of medieval castles.

There will be 16 one-hour sessions of exercises like those on Wednesday with up to 30 students until the end of May.

The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and receives around 30,000 visitors per day, almost 10 million per year. It will host the Olympic torch relay on July 14th. As it is on the banks of the River Seine, it will also be the setting for the opening of the Olympics, on July 26th.

See the route of the Paris 2024 Olympic torch