The Paris 2024 Olympic torch revealed Tuesday is a work of art that belongs in a gallery, but few will end up in the homes of torchbearers who carry it in the relay from Athens to the French capital ahead of the Games next year.
With one year to go before the opening ceremony, organizers unveiled the champaign-colored torch engineered with PVD-coated bead-blasted steel and near perfect symmetry.
For the first time the torch will be symmetrical in shape from top to bottom and 360 degrees around evoking a sense of equality to represent the first-ever gender-equal Olympic Games. The torch will be 70 cm in length and have a diameter of 10 cm across the centre and 3 cm at both ends. It will weigh 1.5 kg, well in range of Olympic specifications.
The lower half of the torch features a wave relief pattern in polished steel that is said to represent the importance of “water as the common thread of the Paris 2024 Games” and the torch relay along the River Seine where the opening ceremony is set to take place.
The soft curves and rounded edges are to represent “peacefulness” as the flame bears a message of peace symbolic of the Olympic Games. The “unique and radiant” champagne color is a blend of the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded at the Games.
The same design will be used for both Olympic and Paralympic torches with the only difference being the Olympic Rings or the Paralympic Agitos logos engraved under the Paris 2024 emblem.
The torch was created by internationally renowned French designer Mathieu Lehanneur whose works include pieces of art and architecture around the world and are in permanent collections at MoMA in New York and Pompidou Centre in Paris.
But Lehanneur’s sculptural torch is unlikely to end up in your living room, or in the homes of the thousands of torchbearers who will carry the sacred flame from Greece and across France from May 8 to July 26 next year. At most Games since the last century organizing committees have manufactured enough torches for each carrier along the route, and have offered the option to purchase them as a cherished collectible. For 2024 only one-fifth of the typical number of torches will be produced and torchbearers will instead be offered a special souvenir gift, according to the organizing committee.
Each of the 2,000 operational torches produced by steel manufacturer and Olympics sponsor ArcelorMittal are expected to be used as many as 10 times for the 10,000 torch bearers, and replicas will be reserved for sponsors and other stakeholders according to contractual obligations. Organizers say the decision to reuse the torches was made in alignment with sustainability efforts and to cut the cost of production. A Paris 2024 spokesperson said the cost to produce each torch is far greater than what they could be sold for.
The manufacturing process will leverage 100 percent recycled scrap steel and the torches will be produced entirely in France with a reduced carbon footprint.
ArcelorMittal will also be manufacturing the Olympic cauldron that will be lit at the opening ceremony at the Trocadéro, the smaller community cauldrons across France and the large Olympic Rings and Paralympic Agitos that will feature at iconic sites in Paris.
Elle portera la Flamme Olympique puis la Flamme Paralympique à travers la France 🇫🇷
Elle allumera la vasque qui marquera le début de nos Jeux ✨
Elle partagera les valeurs et l’esprit de #Paris2024Découvrez la Torche des Jeux de Paris 2024 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NZ847kPacC
— Paris 2024 (@Paris2024) July 25, 2023
