Nothing could go wrong: The story behind the Paris Olympics cauldron balloon

The night the Olympic and Paralympic cauldron first flew over Paris, its designer Mathieu Lehanneur held his breath: Nothing could go wrong.

The balloon, lit by the Olympic torch and set off into the sky, was a risk. After all, it was the first time it had ever been tested in its entirety, Lehanneur told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Some parts, like the balloon or the flame system, had been tested to ensure a smooth flight, but — with so much secrecy — never all together, making the balloon a bit of an Olympic-sized Hail Mary. So when the golden balloon lit up the Paris skies, the cherry on top of Friday's opening ceremony, it dazzled spectators. As the French designer watched in awe, the world watched with him.

“The most important thing for me is that I discovered the finished cauldron at the same time as everyone else,” said Lehanneur, who also designed the Olympic Torch.

For the first time in the history of the Games, the cauldron — a 7-meter (23-feet) diameter ring of fire supported by a giant air balloon — flew through the air. His idea, inspired by the ancient Greek Olympic flame ceremony, was to represent freedom — one of the three words in the French national motto: “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.”

“It’s the first time that there is a cauldron like this, the first time that there is a cauldron that flies and the first time that there is an Olympic flame that is not a real flame. There were many many firsts,” said Lehanneur. “There were many challenges.”

The first hot air balloon flight in history was carried out by the Montgolfier brothers at Versailles in 1783. So for Lehanneur, it made perfect sense to design a hot air balloon when he won the design competition and was awarded what he thinks it’s the most important project of his career so far.

But the prize-winning French designer didn’t want to indulge in nostalgia: He envisioned an innovative, contemporary balloon.

Also for this reason, and for the first time too, the flame isn’t real, but one made of water and light, not needing fossil fuels to shine. What Lehanneur could have never imagined, though, is the incredible success the cauldron had during and after the opening ceremony.

So much so that now Parisians are collecting signatures to make the balloon, which sits on the ground during the day and rises each evening, a permanent monument in the City of Lights — just like the Eiffel Tower, which was supposed to only be a temporary construction for the 1889 World Expo in Paris.

“It’s like an experiment: You put some emotion, some pride, you find a good place, you dose all the elements and you wait, but an explosion of love like this one was impossible to foresee,” Lehanneur told the AP.

On Monday, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo even said she wanted to keep the cauldron after the Games.

To the wonder of hundreds of people, the cauldron flies more than 60 meters (197 feet) above the Tuileries gardens from sunset until 2 a.m. The launch zone site is near the glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre museum.

During daytime hours, 10,000 people each day can get free tickets to approach the cauldron. Every evening hundreds of Parisians sit in the gardens and wait for the show to begin, and their golden hour selfie be taken.

Like Aline Le Quere, a French businesswoman from Paris, who thinks the flame is very original.

“It’s super modern and so really representative of the city of Paris. I adore it.”

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For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.