Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic torch unveiled

By Christy Choi, CNN

(CNN) — Smooth, sleek and chic is the look for the next Olympic torch.

Unveiling his creation in Paris on Tuesday, French designer Mathieu Lehanneur said he drew inspiration from three themes of next year’s Games: equality, water and peacefulness.

“For Paris 2024, and for the first time in its history, (the torch) plays on perfect symmetry, speaking to us more clearly about equality,” he said in a statement. “I wanted it to be extremely pure, iconic, almost elemental. As simple as a hyphen and as fluid as a flame.”

Weighing 3.3 pounds, Lehanneur’s champagne-colored torch features a ripple effect designed to evoke moving water. Manufacturer ArcelorMittal will use 100% recycled steel to produce 2,000 of them — five times fewer than at previous Olympic games — in order to “reduce the impact of production,” according to a press release.

It will be the first torch in the history of the Games to be used for both the OIympics and Paralympics. Past designs have shared similarities but have varied in shape and color. This is part of the organizing committee’s strategy to “build bridges between the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Paris 2024’s president Tony Estanguet said in a statement.

Over the decades, the torch’s appearance has become an important part of Olympic custom. Often a visual representation of the host country, recent designs have embodied the sleek architecture of the Sydney Opera House (in 2000); a folkloric phoenix feather, an omen of good fortune in Russia (Sochi’s 2014 Winter Olympics); and the natural beauty of the Brazilian landscape (Rio 2016).

The torch designs, usually selected by the host city’s organizing committee, have also evolved, and now usually come from esteemed designers and artists. Known for designing furniture and accessories, Lehanneur has had works featured in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and the Pompidou Centre Paris.

After being set alight in Olympia using sunlight reflected off a parabolic mirror (a representation of the might of the Greek god Apollo), the torch will be passed hand to hand by some 10,000 torchbearers as it travels from Greece to France.

The flame is due to reach the Olympic cauldron in Paris on July 26, 2024. It will remain lit until the closing ceremony two weeks later. The flame is then put out and re-lit for the Paralympics, which takes place August 28 to September 8.

The Paris Olympics looks set to be a luxury-filled affair, with French conglomerate LVMH announcing its sponsorship of the event on Monday. One of the company’s jewelry brands, Chaumet, is set to design the competition medals, while LVMH-owned labels Louis Vuitton and Dior will also be involved, as will Moët Hennessy champagne.

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