The lighting of the Olympic cauldron symbolizes the opening of the Olympic Games. That makes it a pretty big deal to Olympic fans and organizers alike.
Each ceremony puts its own spin on the ceremonial lighting, and France had its turn on Friday.
The Olympic cauldron for the 2024 Paris Olympics is a floating hot-air balloon-style structure that pays tribute to France’s history of innovation in air travel. The cauldron rests on the ground during the day; then, each night, it is lifted over 60 meters into the air.
But if you look a little closer, you’ll see that it’s not actually a real flame.
Instead, 40 LED lights illuminate water vapor within the cauldron to give the illusion of a flame. This means the cauldron doesn’t require fossil fuels to stay alight, making a departure from the Olympic flames of the past.
The lighting of the Olympic cauldron is the dramatic end to the journey of the Olympic flame, which is carried across the host country in a relay.
Each Olympic fan has their own favorite Olympic cauldron lighting.
Standout moments include Muhammed Ali lighting the cauldron at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and Chinese gymnast Li Ning being raised up by wires across the stadium to light the flame at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But for many, the 1992 Barcelona Olympics remain top of mind.
Archer Antonio Rebollo took a lit arrow and shot it bull’s-eye into the cauldron, lighting it up. The simple but effective moment has gone down in Olympic history.
It’s a moment that’s hard to live up to, even if France’s cauldron can take flight and is powered by renewable energy.
History of the Olympic torch and cauldron
The Olympic flame was first used in the 1936 Olympic Games, and the tradition remains.
Ahead of the ceremony every four years, the torch is first lit in Olympia, the founding site of the Olympics. It then travels through Greece to Athens, where it’s handed to the delegations for the host country.
This year, the torch was transported to the host country, France, by sea and landed in Marseille. After landing in the host country, the torch began a 68-day relay, which saw it taken across the country by French and international sports stars, among others.
The final leg of the journey took place during the opening ceremony. During the ceremony, a masked figure passed it to French footballer Zinedine Zidane, then to tennis player Rafael Nadal, and to French tennis player Amélie Mauresmo.
French sports stars Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner finally “lit” the cauldron to create what looked like a ring of flames that were attached to a hot-air balloon that was then lifted into the sky. The ring of flames was actually created by 40 electrically-powered LED spotlights.
The cauldron will now “burn” throughout the remainder of the Olympic Games in the Jardin des Tuileries by the Louvre.
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