Latest news with #Aerophile
Local France
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Local France
Olympic balloon to rise again in Paris
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 (23 feet) 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 new cauldron will take to the skies on Saturday evening during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique. 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. The creators of the balloon also reinforced the light-and-mist system that "makes the flames dance", he said. Advertisement Under the cauldron, a machine room hides cables, a compressor and a hydro-electric winch. That system will "hold back the helium balloon when it rises and pull it down during descent", said Jerome Giacomoni, president of the Aerophile group that constructed the balloon. "Filled with 6,200 m3 of helium that is lighter than air," the Olympic balloon "will be able to lift around three tonnes" of cauldron, cables and attached parts, he said. The Tuileries garden is where French inventor Jacques Charles took flight in his first gas balloon on December 1, 1783, Giacomoni added. He followed in the footsteps of the famed Montgolfier brothers, who had just nine days earlier elsewhere in Paris managed to launch a similar balloon into the sky with humans onboard. The website is to display the times when the modern-day balloon will rise and indicate any potential cancellations due to weather conditions.
LeMonde
10 hours ago
- Sport
- LeMonde
Upgraded Olympic balloon set to rise again in Paris
A giant balloon that became a popular landmark over the skies of Paris during the 2024 Olympics is set to rise again, with organizers 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-meter 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 new cauldron will take to the skies on Saturday evening during France's annual street music festival, the Fête de la Musique. 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 10 times longer" and be able to function for "300 days instead of 30," according to Villeret. The creators of the balloon also reinforced the light-and-mist system that "makes the flames dance," he said. Under the cauldron, a machine room hides cables, a compressor and a hydro-electric winch. That system will "hold back the helium balloon when it rises and pull it down during descent," said Jerome Giacomoni, president of the Aerophile group that constructed the balloon. "Filled with 6,200 m3 of helium that is lighter than air," the Olympic balloon "will be able to lift around three tonnes" of cauldron, cables and attached parts, he said. The Tuileries garden is where French inventor Jacques Charles took flight in his first gas balloon on December 1, 1783, Giacomoni added. He followed in the footsteps of the famed Montgolfier brothers, who had just nine days earlier elsewhere in Paris managed to launch a similar balloon into the sky with humans onboard. The website is to display the times when the modern-day balloon will rise and indicate any potential cancellations due to weather conditions.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Paris Olympic Balloon Returns as Summer Sky Attraction
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 (23 feet) 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 new cauldron will take to the skies on Saturday evening during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique. 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. The creators of the balloon also reinforced the light-and-mist system that 'makes the flames dance', he said. Under the cauldron, a machine room hides cables, a compressor and a hydro-electric winch. That system will 'hold back the helium balloon when it rises and pull it down during descent', said Jerome Giacomoni, president of the Aerophile group that constructed the balloon. 'Filled with 6,200 m3 of helium that is lighter than air,' the Olympic balloon 'will be able to lift around three tonnes' of cauldron, cables and attached parts, he said. The Tuileries garden is where French inventor Jacques Charles took flight in his first gas balloon on December 1, 1783, Giacomoni added. He followed in the footsteps of the famed Montgolfier brothers, who had just nine days earlier elsewhere in Paris managed to launch a similar balloon into the sky with humans onboard. The website is to display the times when the modern-day balloon will rise and indicate any potential cancellations due to weather conditions.
The Sun
11 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Olympic balloon to rise again in 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 (23 feet) 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 new cauldron will take to the skies on Saturday evening during France's annual street music festival, the Fete de la Musique. 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. The creators of the balloon also reinforced the light-and-mist system that 'makes the flames dance', he said. Under the cauldron, a machine room hides cables, a compressor and a hydro-electric winch. That system will 'hold back the helium balloon when it rises and pull it down during descent', said Jerome Giacomoni, president of the Aerophile group that constructed the balloon. 'Filled with 6,200 m3 of helium that is lighter than air,' the Olympic balloon 'will be able to lift around three tonnes' of cauldron, cables and attached parts, he said. The Tuileries garden is where French inventor Jacques Charles took flight in his first gas balloon on December 1, 1783, Giacomoni added. He followed in the footsteps of the famed Montgolfier brothers, who had just nine days earlier elsewhere in Paris managed to launch a similar balloon into the sky with humans onboard. The website is to display the times when the modern-day balloon will rise and indicate any potential cancellations due to weather conditions.
Business Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Business Times
Summoning golden Olympic memories, Paris parties like it's still 2024
[PARIS] Parisians had such unexpected fun at their Olympics last summer, that they are holding a public anniversary celebration to recapture the party mood, but not everyone is quite as enthusiastic. The Olympic rings will be projected on the Eiffel Tower and there will be a giant Olympic karaoke in front of the town hall on July 26. However, preceding that party, the glowing cauldron balloon – 'a symbol of the popular enthusiasm for these Olympic Games', according to France's National Olympic Committee – returns on Saturday (Jun 21). It will float once again above the Tuileries Garden, with French President Emmanuel Macron in attendance, to conjure golden memories, even for those who were not there. 'There are many Parisians who fled Paris last year and who kicked themselves,' said Matthieu Gobbi of Aerophile, the company responsible for the balloon. Yet, athletes and grassroots sports organisations in France lament the lack of a more tangible 'legacy'. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up For those who were there, and the five billion the International Olympic Committee claims watched around the world, the Games provided 15 days of candy-coloured distraction from wars, divisive elections and global inflation. The sport was also spectacular, illuminated by the redemption of American gymnast Simone Biles, a likely final Roland-Garros triumph for the then 37-year-old tennis star Novak Djokovic, and the swimming heroics of French golden boy Leon Marchand. The sport at the Paris Olympics last year was spectacular, illuminated by feats that included the swimming heroics of French golden boy Leon Marchand. PHOTO: AFP An unusually high proportion of the Olympics was held in the the middle of the city, and that posed a challenge. There were fears of terrorist attacks, that public transport would not cope and the Seine would be too polluted for triathletes and long-distance swimmers to compete. Paris still pulled it off, enhancing its image, not least in France, as the world's leading tourist destination. 'We will see who can repeat a Games like this,' said Macron. 'Joy, unity, pride' This summer, Parisians will be able to swim at three venues along the Seine. The Tour de France, rerouted to avoid the capital last year, returns for its traditional finish on the Champs-Elysees at the end of a stage that covers many of the same streets where 500,000 spectators watched the Olympic road races. That stage will be on July 27, a year and a day after the Paris Games opened with an epic and grandiose ceremony, put on by a cast of 20,000 artists and staff, along the Seine. Celine Dion sang from the Eiffel Tower while the athletes sailed down the river in the pouring rain. 'This moment is a memory we share. It's not so common these days,' said Thomas Jolly, the artistic director for the opening and closing ceremonies. 'Having everyone watching the same thing at the same time surely creates a bond!' The ceremony left a lasting mark, he said, 'of joy, unity, pride'. The Games themselves even made a profit, a surplus of 76 million euros (S$112.5 million).That figure does not yet include broader public spending, particularly on infrastructure, and it is here that some in France feel the Olympics has left a slightly bitter taste. For Olympic organisers, the word 'legacy' – both tangible and intangible – helps legitimise hosting an event that many countries no longer want. 'We are trying to give the Olympics a role they weren't made for,' said Mickael Attali, a sports historian at Rennes II University. 'Good memories' and 'a good image of France' remain. 'Materially, there are still some things left in Seine-Saint-Denis,' said Attali, referring to the poorest departement in mainland France where the Olympic Aquatic Centre, opposite the Stade de France, has just opened to the public. Macron had promised the Olympics would help turn France into a sporting nation. The number of people registered to sports clubs has increased by 5 per cent, but thousands of enthusiastic children were turned away last autumn because of a lack of space. After the Games ended, national and local sports budgets were cut. Sports officials say that infrastructure projects have been halted and expenditure on equipment slashed. Some French athletes were abandoned by commercial sponsors. 'All the companies that had set up sponsorship for the Olympics have left,' said a specialist in sports marketing who did not wish to be named. Even some of France's Olympic stars feel the lustre has faded fast. 'We should not have said there would be a legacy,' said Olympic fencing champion Manon Apithy-Brunet. AFP
