A flame without fuel made of water and light, that doesn't burn but illuminates. It's an EDF premiere. With its flame ring, Paris 2024 is putting the climate front and center, and is already making its mark on the history of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The flame of the Paris 2024 Cauldron sparked a moment of sensation at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This symbol of the Paris 2024 Games, took on a special meaning this year. At a time of global warming, the flame-ring carries a strong message, that of a more responsible, electric future.

Projecting a powerful stream of light onto a cloud of water: it was the perfect idea!  A warm, living electric flame without fossil fuels: a true technological feat, the flame-ring breaks the boundaries.

EDF teams have been working with Paris 2024 on this project for almost three years. They are proud of their contribution to one of the strong symbols of Paris 2024.
 

From concept to reality, the genesis of a bold, collective project

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With Brut and Alain Bernard, discover the secrets behind the design of the Flamme of the Olympic Cauldron. (In French with French subtitles)

The idea that caught on: an alternative flame

The signing of the Partnership with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games reactivated work initiated in 2010 by EDF researchers and designers around the design of an alternative flame to fossil combustion for the London 2012 Games cauldron. Convinced that, in the face of fossil fuels, electricity is a realistic and mobilizing solution for moving towards a CO2-neutral world, EDF teams then worked on a proposal for a 100% electric flame for the Cauldron of Paris 2024.

A solution quickly emerged, based on the simultaneous and controlled projection of a cloud of mist, and a powerful stream of light, creating a warm, living electric flame. The apparent simplicity of this solution, made possible by advances in LED technology, conceals long hours of work to design a device that meets a number of requirements: visibility, aesthetics, resilience and brilliance. The proposal developed in EDF's Pulse Design laboratory was positively received by the Paris 2024 and IOC teams, who were receptive to the symbolic power of an Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron illuminated by an electric flame.

The perfect combination of design and the conception of an electric flame

The bold creative project by Mathieu Lehanneur, selected by Paris 2024 to design the Cauldron, put the electric flame proposed by EDF as a central element in the achievability of this revolutionary project. An almost 7-meter-diameter flame-ring acts as a showcase for the flame of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Vasque. Without ever compromising on aesthetics, teams from EDF and its partners were careful to meet the highest standards of safety and reliability to bring the Cauldron of Paris 2024 to life.

Development and manufacture of the flame-ring

To complete the project of a cauldron going up 60 meters in the Paris skyline, EDF called on French companies with recognized expertise. A workshop specializing in the creation of exceptional pieces for architecture, design and art designed and manufactured the flame ring, along with a hydraulics partner. The project required numerous studies and prototypes, as well as the design of custom lighting and misting components. The flame-ring integrates 40 spotlights with a light output equivalent to 4 million lumens and 200 high-pressure misting nozzles. Water consumption, on the order of 3m3 per hour when the Vasque is in flight, is reduced to 2m3 when it is on the ground in the Jardin des Tuileries.

  • 40

    spotlights

  • 4 millions

    lumens

  • 200

    high-pressure misting nozzle

A technological feat inspired by aeronautical engineering

This exceptional aluminum mechanical part meets the challenge of robustness and lightness imposed by the overall design of the Cauldron of Paris 2024. The feat lies particularly in the positioning of the flame ring at a height of 60 meters, implying an inescapable constraint of lightness, integrity and safety comparable to the requirements of aeronautical engineering. And to guarantee the continuous operation of the device throughout the Paris 2024 Games, an innovative solution had to be developed for routing the flow of electricity and high-pressure water to the flame-ring, via a cable capable of following the movements of the Cauldron when in flight.

Water, a central element of the Vasque of the Paris 2024 Games

In line with the Group's commitment to preserving resources for its energy activities, EDF integrated the issue of water into the entire process for the Cauldron of the Paris 2024 Games: controlling consumption by developing high-pressure nozzles with very low water consumption, reusing water in the water mirror adorning the fountain in the Jardin des Tuileries, and refreshing the area around the Cauldron with mist.