On Saturday 6 July 2013, Lightning will strike in Stade de France

The news is official: on Saturday 6 July, Usain Bolt will be competing in the 2013 edition of the MEETING AREVA, for the ninth leg of the Samsung Diamond League. Indeed the Jamaican has confirmed his presence on the Stade de France track to the organisers of the Parisian meeting.

He’ll be taking the start of the 200m, the final race of the evening, a distance for which he holds the world record (19’’19 on 20 August 2009 in Berlin), the last two world titles (2009 and 2011), and Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.

Absent from the meeting last year, Usain Bolt will be returning to a competition he competed at in 2009 and 2010, over 100m (9’’84, Meeting record), then in 2011, over 200m (20’’03). The Paris meeting is a venue he admits to being very attached to, through loyalty to his public and the organisers, as well as through a love for Paris and France.

For this reason alone, Usain Bolt’s presence in the Stade de France is an event in itself. However, with over four months to go until the meet, the organisers of the Meeting AREVA have also received confirmation of the participation of two stars from French athletics: Christophe Lemaitre and Renaud Lavillenie. The former will challenge Usain Bolt over 200m for a remake of the 2011 edition of the event, where the Jamaican outpaced the Savoyard by 18 hundredths of a second (20’’03 compared with 20’’21). With less than five weeks to go until the Moscow World Championships, their confrontation will be reminiscent of a dress rehearsal. It’s also worth remembering that both sprinters got together on the podium at the Daegu Worlds in 2011, in 1st and 3rd place.

Meantime, Renaud Lavillenie may well look as if he owns the place when he enters the Stade de France. Indeed the French pole-vaulter has enjoyed four consecutive victories at the Meeting AREVA in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. His best performance dates back to 2010, when he cleared 5.91m. His next attempt could see him secure the meeting record, which is held jointly by Ukrainian Sergueï Bubka and American Jeff Hartwig with 6m.

With such a trio of headline acts, the MEETING AREVA 2013 is sure to draw the crowds to the Stade de France. The date, identical to that of last year, is a favourable one since it will take place over a week before the mass exodus for the 14 July holidays. For once, the meeting will be held on Saturday, which in theory is a better day for pulling in big crowds to the grandstands of the Ile de France stadium. Until now, the event has taken place at the weekend on only two occasions, in 1999 and 2006.

The ticket office, will opens wednesday 27 february, will enable the general public to enjoy the Usain Bolt phenomenon for €20 in category 2, €40 in category 1 and €70 on the finish line.

Members of the FFA (French Athletics Federation) can benefit from a promotion in the form of a unique code, entitling them to: tickets in category 1 for the cost of category 2, which equates to a 50% reduction.