2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron

The 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron (French: Chaudron des Jeux olympiques et paralympiques d'été de 2024) was made for the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris. It was located at the Tuileries Garden.

2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron
The cauldron at the Tuileries Garden
Artist	Mathieu Lehanneur
Year	2024 (2024)
Location	Paris, France
Coordinates	48°51′46.4″N 2°19′45.5″E

Design

The French Olympic Committee commissioned Mathieu Lehanneur (fr) (born 1974), to design the cauldron, torch, and ceremonial cauldrons along the torch relay route: Lehanneur developed a concept of having these three items symbolise France's national motto, "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" ("Liberty, equality, fraternity"), and gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively. Lehanneur described them as "three chapters in the same story", with the cauldron representing liberty, gold medals, and serving as "the epilogue and the ultimate symbol of that story. Light, magical and unifying."

The cauldron consists of a 7-metre (23-foot) diameter ring suspended from a 30-meter-tall (98 feet) helium-filled balloon. Its design was designed to pay homage to the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries – in particular, France's historical contributions to balloon flight. In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers conducted the first human flight using a hot air balloon.

For the first time, as part of goals to reduce carbon emissions, the cauldron did not contain an actual flame generated via combustion. Instead, the presence of the Olympic flame was simulated via an LED lighting system, consisting of 40 lamps illuminating a cloud of mist generated by 200 water jets. The system was developed in partnership with Électricité de France (EDF), France's state-owned energy company. The actual Olympic flame was kept in a lantern also displayed in the garden. The cauldron was tethered to a wire-like conduit anchored to a platform (installed 2024) in the center of the Grand Bassin Rond (a large, circular ornamental pond) at the Tuileries Garden; each night during the Games, the balloon ascended into the night sky, floating aloft 60 metres (200 feet) over the Garden, illuminated against the twilight. The setting was in line with landmarks such as the Louvre Pyramid, the Obelisk at Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe, and, in the distance, the Eiffel Tower. It was operated by French balloon manufacturer Aerophile.

Use

A view of the cauldron at night, with water nebulizers dissipating a small cloud of microscopic water droplets (aerosol) illuminated by LED lamps simulating artificial flames below the bottom of the tethered helium balloon.

During the Olympic opening ceremony, the cauldron was lit by judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-José Pérec of Guadeloupe. During the Paralympic opening ceremony, French Paralympians Alexis Hanquinquant, Nantenin Keïta, Charles-Antoine Kouakou, Fabien Lamirault, and Élodie Lorandi lit the cauldron. During the Olympics closing ceremony, the "flame" on the cauldron was turned off during an opening segment. The flame's lantern was taken by French swimmer and gold medalist Léon Marchand to the closing ceremony at Stade de France, where it was blown out.

Reception

The cauldron has been acclaimed for its poetic symbolism, modern environmental consciousness, and the way it integrates French history into the global spirit of the Olympics​. Parisians have lauded it as a popular landmark and have petitioned to have institutionalized as a permanent fixture.

See also

Main article: 2024 Summer Olympics

Main article: 2024 Summer Paralympics

Main article: 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

Main article: 2024 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony

Main article: 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony

Main article: 2024 Summer Paralympics closing ceremony

Main article: 2024 Summer Olympics torch relay

Main article: 2024 Summer Paralympics torch relay

Main article: Olympic flame

Gallery

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Bibliography

References

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