Elegant and brilliant torch for the Paris Olympics unveiled with the carbon footprint in mind and one year to go
Torches are produced in limited numbers to save resources.
PARIS, France — The torch that will be used to carry the Olympic flame around France and on its final leg at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Games next July is an elegant silver-colored cylinder of recycled steel that is gracefully tapered at both ends and is being made in limited numbers to conserve resources.
Paris organizers unveiled French designer Mathieu Lehanneur’s torch design on Tuesday, part of a week of activities marking the year’s countdown to the July 26 opening.
Organizers said 2,000 torches, five times fewer than at some previous Olympics, are being made from recycled steel.
Each weighs 3.3 pounds and is 27.5 inches tall.
Paris uses the same torch design for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Once lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece, the flame will be transported by boat to the city of Marseille in southern France.
The torch relay will depart from there on May 8, with 10,000 torchbearers taking turns carrying it, the last of whom will light the cauldron during the opening ceremony.
