It is one of the three symbols of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After the unveiling of the flame, it is the turn of the cauldron to be presented, before the cauldron later. The cauldron imagined by designer Mathieu Lehanneur and manufactured by ArcelorMittal, will be in each city where the flame takes place and lit by the last relayer. RMC Sport lets you discover it.
In his workshops in Ivry-sur-Seine, Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer of Paris 2024, presents his creation. “When I see it I love it, I’m happy with it. I have a little memory of all the difficulties we went through. In particular the technical constraints. I’m happy that we managed to do it “.
Placed on a wooden box, this cauldron, weighing 95kg and 1m15 high, is very special. “This cauldron does not look like the image we all have of a cauldron. Perhaps we have read too much Asterix. This cauldron is a ring of steel which seems to float above of a water relief. And this water is not water. It is created by a deformed sheet of metal with a mirror effect,” explains Lehanneur with a smile.
A designer cauldron made entirely of steel which aimed to represent fraternity. “I wanted to come up with an object that was as simple and symbolic as possible. If you ask a child to draw fraternity or a gathering, the first thing that comes to mind is a circle. So it was to make this ring, as simple as possible, as pure as possible and this ring must carry technique, technology, because it must ignite, welcome a flame”, underlines the designer.
Certain technical constraints had to be met. “The main technical constraint is that the flame comes from the gas and that we must create the entire gas circuit which must be ultra secure.” This “fairly soft pale gold” colored ring is reminiscent of the flame. “It’s a shade obtained by mixing a gold, silver and bronze medal.” It is placed on three legs, where the gas will circulate to light the flame. “And inside the ring, there is a pipe perforated with hundreds of micro-holes, which will allow the flame to appear,” explains Mathieu Lehanneur.
“The cauldron will be in all the stopover towns”
Only twenty examples of the cauldron were made. “Eight on the Olympic relay, we also need to send some on the overseas relay. And twelve for the Paralympic relay,” explains Delphine Moulin, the director of the Olympic Games celebrations. “The cauldron will be in all the stopover towns, in 65 sites. Every evening, the last bearer will come and light the cauldron and we will end the day with that. It is emblematic and a symbolic moment. We will often have famous people or a a little less but it’s something symbolic”, underlines Delphine Moulin.
Its first conflagration will be next Wednesday, May 8, in Marseille, when the flame arrives on French soil. “As I speak to you, there is a little frustration, because the object behind me is not yet finished. It is almost missing the major part which is the fire itself. Unfortunately, I cannot not light it. It can only be lit with the sacred fire, the one that comes from Olympia. I’m dying to show it to you in its real life. It’s coming soon, even I’m impatient. “, smiles Lehanneur.
Only the ArcelorMittal teams, who manufactured the cauldron, were able to see it ablaze. A pride for the French company to have been part of the project. “It is magnificent, we are very happy to be in this adventure. We can’t wait to show it to people, to see their emotions. We for having implemented it, and for having done tests to be sure that it works, so we’ve already seen the tool in working order. It’s beautiful, I hope it will evoke a lot of emotion,” says Eric Niedziela, president of ArcelorMittal France.
And like the flame, this object must resist all weather. No worries for Mathieu Lehanneur, everything has been thought of. “It holds up and there is no risk. We went through lots of tests in extreme conditions of wind, rain, whatever the conditions, to be sure that the flame is beautiful, unfolds, and does not go out .I’m relaxed about it.”
