K-pop idol Jin of BTS to be Olympic torchbearer for South Korea, in Paris 2024 games

K-pop idol Jin, the eldest member of the South Korean big band BTS, will participate as a torchbearer in the Paris 2024 Olympic torch relay.

“Jin will take part in the Olympic Torch Relay to spread the message of ‘harmony’ and ‘peace’,” Hybe his talent agency, said in an announcement on Wednesday, June 3.

“Jin along with the other torchbearers are scheduled to go across various historic sites of the host country,” the agency said. The 31-year-old singer recently completed his 18-month mandatory military service in June.

The other six group members, Jungkook, V (Tehyung), Jimin, Suga, RM, and J-Hope are currently serving their military duties. The band is expected to regroup next year.

After returning, in his latest post on Instagram, Jin was seen wearing a black long-sleeve t-shirt featuring Jungkook's image from BTS's 'Golden' merchandise collection, which Jin claimed he discovered at the company building. During a recent fan meet, he was seen hugging fans who were emotional to see him return.

To celebrate, BTS fans made one of his solo cuts, from 2021, top charts again in the US.

According to a recent forbes.com article, 'Super Tuna' by Jin is back on number one the Billboard chart's World Digital Song Sales list.

Jin along with the other torchbearers will take the torch across various historic sites of the host country. The specific schedule is yet to be announced.

The Olympic Torch relay

Copy of 143933-01-02-1715281052298 — French Ivorian former football player Didier Drogba lights the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays cauldron, designed by Mathieu Lehanneur with the Olympic Torch as part of the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays at the Stade Velodrome, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Marseille, southeastern France, on May 9, 2024. The transfer of the flame onshore from a 19th-century tall ship will mark the start of a 12,000-kilometre (7,500-mile) torch relay across mainland France and the country's far-flung overseas territories. (Photo by Sylvain THOMAS / AFP) Image Credit: AFP

The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Olympics, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony marks the start the Olympic Torch Relay, which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The flame then continues to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it is extinguished during the closing ceremony. This year, the flame for the Paris Games was lit in April and has been in a relay ever since. It reached France on May 8 and is expected to be passed from hand to hand by around 10,000 torchbearers before reaching the Olympic cauldron in Paris, on July 26. Over the years, the Olympic flame has gone around the world on many adventurous routes. It has gone into space, reached Mount Everest, and was carried underwater in Lake Baikal – the world's deepest lake – as part of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay. The flame will also light the Paralympic Games, which take place from August 28 to September 8, where 1,000 torchbearers will help relay the torch across 50 French towns and cities.