Images of the torch that will carry the Olympic fire at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Games next summer have been finally revealed. The redesigned torch features a sleek silver-colored cylinder that is made of recycled steel in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the 2,000 torches that will be produced for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The torch, which was created with the help of French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, will be carried from Olympia, Greece, to Paris beginning on May 8, with 10,000 torchbearers taking turns to carry it, and the last torchbearer will light the cauldron at the opening ceremony.
“Designing the Torch for the Games is a designer’s dream, one that comes around once in a lifetime, like an extraordinary encounter with history,” Lehanneur said. “Ritualistic and magical in equal measure, the Torch is a mythical object. A symbol of cohesion and sharing, it really does play a key role in the Games.