STORY: :: After nine months of work, this factory in France
has assembled 2,000 torches for the Olympic Games
:: Vire, France
:: Delphine Moulin, Paris 2024 Director of Celebrations
"Today, this symmetry, this balance that we see, it really symbolizes what our vision is for the Paris Games, meaning equity, equality, balance among Olympic and Paralympic athletes. It's the first time in the history of torches that we have this logic of symmetry. The second (concept) is this notion of waves, the movement that we can have, as you know, there's the project around the Seine River, the fact that we cross oceans, the Mediterranean, the fact that we're crossing the Atlantic and going through the Eurotunnel. And finally, this curve that gives the feeling of softness, which changes a bit from torches we've seen before, which are rather flared. This has a singularity - not that I want to compare - but in any case, this really reflects the Paris Games."
:: The design is water and windproof, so that
the flame can withstand the traditional torch relay
The torch was produced at the Normandy factory of French silverware and cutlery company Guy Degrenne, where the metal was laser-cut, welded and assembled by a couple of dozen workers in a nine-month process that ended last January.
Some 1,500 torches will be used for the Olympics relay, with the other 500 going to the Paralympics relay.
The Olympic cauldron will be lit at the opening ceremony on July 26.
