Have you seen the flame of the Paris Olympic Games? Since the opening ceremony, it has been flying every evening in a hot air balloon above the city. Magnificent! But did you know that this flame does not really burn? That’s because it is made of… water and light! What? Let me explain everything!
It has been a tradition since the 1928 Games: at the end of the opening ceremony, a cauldron is lit, which will burn for the duration of the competition. For this purpose, the Olympic flame, which has travelled from Greece, is used.
The organizers of the Paris Games wanted to innovate. And we can say that they succeeded: a fireless cauldron that flies! The flame effect is produced by 40 projectors and 200 mist diffusers. It was Mathieu Lehanneur, a French designer, who designed this… refreshing cauldron!
Since there is no fire, there are no greenhouse gas emissions. Instead, electricity is used to power everything. So you could say it is a greener Olympic “flame.”
During the day, the basin rests on the ground in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris. In the evening, it rises 60 metres into the air.
Why in a hot air balloon? Because it was two Frenchmen, the Montgolfier brothers, who invented the hot air balloon in 1783.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has said she would like to keep the cauldron after the Olympics. It would be a nice addition to Paris, which is nicknamed “the City of Lights.”
Now, you might be wondering where the “real” flame went? The organizers still placed a small lantern near the cauldron that burns with the fire of the REAL Olympic flame. Phew!
Caroline Bouffard
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