The Paris 2024 Olympics cauldron design for the Torch Relay has been unveiled. Designed by Mathieu Lehanneur, it will be lit at each stopover city in France by the last Torchbearer of the day.
The Olympic Torch Relay unfolds as a compelling narrative depicted through three profoundly symbolic objects emblematic of the Games. Originating from Olympia, the Paris 2024 Torch embarks on a journey across Greece, paying homage to the Games’ ancient roots.
Its next appearance in Marseille on 8 May will herald the commencement of four months of celebratory events commemorating the Games in France. As the Torch reaches French territory, 10,000 Olympic Torchbearers will illuminate the regions, bridging the Games’ spirit with the French populace. In every stopover city, the day’s final Torchbearer will ignite the cauldron at the celebration venue, culminating in vibrant festivities.
The transition from the Torch Relay cauldrons to the Olympic Cauldron will occur solely on the closing day of the Relay, 26 July, 2024, marking the commencement of the Olympic Games. The Torch, cauldron, and Paralympic cauldron will feature in the Paralympic Torch Relay, commencing from Stoke Mandeville in England, the renowned birthplace of Paralympic sport.
Upon reaching France in Calais on 25 August, the Paralympic Flame will be distributed into twelve Flames across the nation, each illuminating a cauldron in the stopover cities before converging to ignite the Paralympic cauldron in Paris on 28 August, 2024. “Each day, during the Torch Relay, the lighting of the cauldron by the last Torchbearer of the day will be a highlight,” said Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024.
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“In each stopover city, the cauldron will be a real meeting point to round off these days of celebration and communion in style. We’re inviting everyone to join us there, to share in all the emotions we’ll be experiencing with the Torch Relay and to celebrate, together, the arrival of the Games in France. We can’t wait!”
Crafted by French designer Lehanneur, the Torch Relay cauldron is inspired by the Torch’s essence, integrating its distinctive elements: the simplicity of form, vibrant colours, and the fluidity of water’s texture. With a singular base, three supporting structures, and an almost ethereal ring, the cauldron’s pristine form mirrors the graceful curves of the Torch, symbolising the spirit of peace embodied by the Flame and the Games.
The cauldron shares the radiant hue of the Torch, blending gold, silver, and bronze tones, featuring a glossy finish on its lower sections and a matte finish on the upper sections. “The Torch, the Torch Relay cauldron and the Olympic Cauldron are not separate objects,” said Lehanneur.
“They are chapters in one great story. Each embodies the spirit of the Paris Games. The cauldron takes the form of a ring of fire suspended above a liquid surface. Both pure and magical, it seems to float and is reflected in its metallic base. If the Torch is a sacred fire that is passed on, the cauldron is the object around which we gather and which unites our energies.”
From the Mediterranean Sea to the Seine, spanning the journey from the Torch Relay through the Opening Ceremony stage of the Olympic Games and competition venues, the significance of water in the Paris 2024 Torch Relay and Games is represented by wave and ripple effects adorning both the Torch and the cauldron’s base.