Rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg will be one of the final torch bearers at the Paris Olympics, an opportunity he regards as a “prestigious honor.”
When he agreed to become a torch bearer, the hip-hop star recalled an emotional and memorable moment watching Muhammed Ali light the cauldron at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
“It was emotional for all of us to see the champ holding that torch and walking up there,” Snoop Dogg said Wednesday of the late Ali, who surprised the crowd when he lit the cauldron as he had Parkinson’s disease.
Snoop Dogg will carry the torch in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis ahead of the Games’ opening ceremony on Friday, according to the town’s mayor, Mathieu Hanotin.
“This is my own version of it,” Snoop Dogg said. “I don’t want to get too emotional, but I know that this is special.”
During a call with sportscaster Mike Tirico and executive producer and president of NBC Olympics Production, Molly Solomon, the acclaimed rapper said he’s thankful for being a representative from the US and France’s support in inviting to participate in the ceremony.
“This says a lot about America as far as where we’re at in this world,” he said. “At the same time, it says a lot about France as far as connecting the dots and allowing me to do this. I look at this as a prestigious honor and something I truly respect. I would have never dreamed of nothing like this. I’m going to be on my best behavior. I’m going to be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breathe slow to walk fast and hold the torch with a smile on my face, because I realize how prestigious this event is.”
In addition to being a torch-bearer, Snoop Dogg will also serve as a prime-time NBC correspondent during the Games.
“I’m going to show you why they made me the man to do it,” he said. “I’m going to put all of my resources and energy around it with peace, love and harmony. That’s what the Olympics is all about. I feel like that’s why they chose me. That’s what I represent.”
