Mathieu Lehanneur's "Flying Cauldron" Prepares to Ascend Ahead of Paralympic Games

The Olympic Cauldron has been a central symbol of the modern games for over a hundred years. At the Amsterdam Games in 1928, a symbolic flame was lit at the top of a tower in the stadium, while later, at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, the concept was expanded to include the torch relay.

Ever since, the lighting of the Cauldron has become a key highlight of the Opening Cermony, and the Paris 2024 Games have been no exception. Now, as the city prepares for the opening of the Paralympic Games, French designer Mathieu Lehanneur is once again readying his Cauldron – which he designed to appear as a giant balloon.

Located in the Jardin des Tuileries, the Cauldron has really become a focal point for this games. Its sleek look is typical of Lehanneur's style, and is created as an "ode to lightness". The design features two key elements: a machined and anodized aluminum structure for the flame-ring, and a 22-meter diameter helium-filled balloon.

"This absolutely unique Cauldron represents all the spirit I wanted to give to the Olympic and Paralympic objects," he says. "Light, magical and unifying, it will be a beacon in the night and a sun within reach during the day. The fire that burns in it will be made of light and water, like a cool oasis in the heart of summer."

So successful is Lehanneur's design, that within hours after the Olympic Opening Ceremony, all 200,000 tickets to see the Cauldron were sold out, and each evening, more than 10 000 people gathered to see the take off. According to Lehanneur's studio, the idea of the Cauldron becoming a permanent fixture post-Games has been endorsed by both Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, and Gabriel Attal, the French Prime Minister.

"I created the Torch, the Relay cauldron and the Olympic Cauldron as three chapters in the same story," Lehanneur says. "The Cauldron is the epilogue and the ultimate symbol of that story. Light, magical and unifying."

See the Cauldron take flight once again during the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, which takes place on August 28th at 20:00 CET.

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Mathieu Lehanneur's "Flying Cauldron" Prepares to Ascend Ahead of Paralympic Games

Mathieu Lehanneur's "Flying Cauldron" Prepares to Ascend Ahead of Paralympic Games

Mathieu Lehanneur's "Flying Cauldron" Prepares to Ascend Ahead of Paralympic Games

Mathieu Lehanneur's "Flying Cauldron" Prepares to Ascend Ahead of Paralympic Games

Mathieu Lehanneur's "Flying Cauldron" Prepares to Ascend Ahead of Paralympic Games