Cauldron balloon from Olympics returns to float above Paris

The balloon carrying the cauldron from the summer 2024 Olympic Summer Games will fly above Paris again, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday. The balloon will reappear above Paris from the annual fête de la musique in late June through an annual sporting festival in early September every summer. It will keep up that schedule for at least three years, until the Los Angeles games planned for 2028, Macron said. Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo petitioned Macron for months to keep the balloon in the city, according to a Friday social media post. She specifically thanked lawmaker Marc Guillaume for leading the charge to keep the Olympic spirit in the city.

So what’s the big deal with the caldron? The cauldron made history as the first Olympic flame sustained by electricity instead of fossil fuel. LED lights shining through clouds of mist within the cauldron create an illusion of fire, an environmentally friendly flame, organizers said. During the games, the puncture-proof balloon was filled with helium and eased into the sky every night. It was pulled back down during the day for spectators to view. Engineers visually aligned the balloon with iconic Parisian locations like the Louvre Museum and the Champs-Elysées leading to the Arc de Triomphe. The balloon was a tourist attraction, with news outlet France24 saying the balloon was sorely missed by the city.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on the United States winning the most medals at the Paris games.