Snoop Dogg to carry torch ahead of ceremony

American rapper Snoop Dogg will be among the torchbearers carrying the Olympic flame in the final stretch before the opening ceremony of the Paris Games on Friday.

Snoop Dogg, 52, will carry the torch through the streets of Saint-Denis, the northern Paris suburb that is home to the Stade de France Olympic Stadium, the town's mayor, Mathieu Hanotin, said on X.

"Saint Denis: last step before the Eiffel Tower. An international cast @SnoopDogg for the last stretch of the Olympic Flame," Hanotin wrote.

The rapper, who is also contributing to NBC's coverage of the Games, is better known in the sports world for his Snoop Youth Football League. The championship game is called the "Snooper Bowl."

Other carriers of the torch in Saint-Denis on Friday include French actress Laetitia Casta and French rapper MC Solaar.

The identity of the person who will light the Olympic cauldron on the night of the opening ceremony is secret, with less than a dozen people in the know.

Paris 2024 organizing committee president Tony Estanguet said on Sunday that the person who will light the cauldron on Friday was not yet aware they had been selected.

Candidates include Marie-Jose Perec, a three-time gold medalist in track and field who is widely considered to be France's best Olympian of all time, and soccer star Zinedine Zidane, who led France to the World Cup title in 1998 and the European crown in 2000.