Olympic balloon to rise again in Paris
PARIS - A giant balloon that became a popular landmark over the skies of Paris during the 2024 Olympics is set to rise again, with organisers hoping it will once again attract crowds of tourists.
During the Games, the Olympic cauldron tethered to a balloon flew above the Tuileries garden at sunset every day, with thousands flocking to see the seven-metre wide ring of electric fire.
Last summer's version "had been thought up to last for the length of the Olympic and Paralympic Games," said Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer of the cauldron.
After President Emmanuel Macron "decided to bring it back, all of the technical aspects needed to be reviewed", he told AFP on Thursday.
Lehanneur said he was "very moved" that the Olympic balloon was making a comeback.
"The worst thing would have been for this memory to become a sitting relic that couldn't fly anymore," he said.
The balloon will rise into the air every evening until September 14 -- a summer tradition set to return every year until the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
"For its revival, we needed to make sure it changed as little as possible and that everything that did change was not visible," said Lehanneur.
With a decarbonated fire patented by French energy giant EDF, the upgraded balloon follows "the same technical principles" as its previous version, said director of innovation at EDF Julien Villeret.
The improved attraction "will last ten times longer" and be able to function for "300 days instead of 30", according to Villeret.
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