MADRID, 25 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled on Tuesday the design of the torch that will travel to the cauldron installed in the French capital and designed by Mathieu Lehanneur.
“This object embodies all the editions of the Games. When we look back, each torch is more beautiful than the previous one and each one is unique. All countries try to show their creativity and we can see it, it is an aesthetic object that counts for something”, Tony Estanguet remarked at a press conference during the presentation of the torch.
As indicated by the Organizing Committee, the design is distinguished above all by its champagne color, “unique and radiant”, and Lehanneur has been inspired to create Equality, Water and Peace, the three mottos of the event.
Thus, to reflect the “ambition” of Equality, the design is “perfectly symmetrical, both horizontally and vertically”, while the wave, 3D and vibration effects of the torch reproduce the waves and movements of Water, as well as the reflections of light on its surface. And as a “reflection of this desire for Peace”, the object is “permeated with sweetness, with its curves and rounded lines”, which makes its design convey “generosity and solidarity”.
“We worked as sculptors, we didn’t want to add things. From the initial idea, we wanted to return to the essence of what we were looking for and use as little material as possible and achieve maximum lightness,” Lehanneur admitted in words collected by the websites of the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee.
For him, “designing the Olympic and Paralympic torch is the dream of creatives.” “It is a dream that only happens once in a lifetime, like a miraculous encounter with history. As ritual as it is magical, the torch is a mythical object and a symbol of cohesion and sharing; it is the real key to the Games,” he stressed.
The torch has been manufactured by ‘ArcelorMittal’, the world’s leading steel company and official partner of Paris 2024. In total, it will produce 2,000 torches, five times less than in previous editions of the Games.
To manufacture it, ‘ArcelorMittal’ is mobilizing its global ‘R&D’ department and three of its French sites to represent the expertise of its workforce, both of which have been carefully selected for their ability to produce steel with a reduced carbon footprint that meets design requirements.