Staff Writer
The torch that will carry the Olympic flame around France in advance of the 2024 Olympic Games was presented on Tuesday by the event’s organizers.
French designer Mathieu Lehanneur produced the sleek steel flame, which he said was “inspired by three symbols of the upcoming Games: Equality, Water, and Peacefulness.”
The champagne-colored torch is being produced in a small quantity to conserve resources. It is tapered at both ends. According to the organizers, 2000 torches are being created, which is a fivefold decrease from some earlier Games editions.
Each one is 70 centimeters tall and 1.5 kilos in weight.
a lengthy trip
The torch will be lighted at the start of its trip in Olympia, Greece, and then transported by sea to Marseille in southern France.
On May 8, the torch relay will begin there. 10,000 torchbearers will take turns carrying the torch, with the final one lighting the cauldron at the Games’ opening ceremony.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games will both use the same torch design.
For the Paralympics, it will be carried by an additional 1000 torchbearers.
a fantastical thing
The Olympic flame was “a once-in-a-lifetime dream” for Lehanneur, a 49-year-old designer who is well-known around the world.
The Torch is a legendary artefact that is both ritualistic and magical. It certainly does serve a crucial role as a symbol of unity and sharing.
It will be spread from person to person on land and at sea over thousands of kilometers. For the first time in its history, it plays on exact symmetry for Paris 2024 and does so to communicate more directly to us about equality.
