The Olympic cauldron which will host the flame during the Paris Olympics (July 26-August 11) will be installed in the Jardin des Tuileries, a place accessible to the public in the heart of Paris between the Louvre Palace and Place de La Concorde, AFP learned on Wednesday from a source with knowledge of the negotiations. This secret location, which some had imagined on the Eiffel Tower or not far away, was chosen “several weeks” ago between the organizing committee (Cojo) and the Paris town hall, confided this source.
Called the “Ariane project”, the location ultimately chosen was not the one initially thought. The organizers and the Paris town hall had in fact initially opted for the installation of the basin in the square courtyard of the Louvre, in the center of the Louvre Museum. “But the location was more complicated for public access. The choice of the Tuileries therefore also prevailed because of the ease of public access,” explained this source.
“Lots of rumors”
More precisely, the chosen installation area is located at the level of the Large Round Basin of the Jardin des Tuileries, close to the east entrance, opposite the Louvre Pyramid. A place not far from Place de la Concorde, one of the Olympic sites which will host four events (BMX freestyle, break, skateboard and 3×3 basketball). Questioned by AFP, the organizing committee refused to deny or confirm this information, a suggestion mentioned by the daily L’Equipe on March 20. The deputy for sports at Paris City Hall, Pierre Rabadan, also present by AFP, did not wish to “make any comment”.
“There have already been a lot of rumors about its location,” explains Cojo, adding: “what we can say is that in the spirit of the Games in the heart of the city, we want the basin to be installed at heart of Paris, for the symbolism and so that it is visible to all. It is in the spirit of the Paris 2024 Games and our opening ceremony, both open to as many people as possible and open to the city “The basin will therefore be installed in the heart of Paris, almost a kilometer as the crow flies from the City Hall, between Place Vendôme and the Musée d’Orsay.
“It is an area which allows for optimal security. There will be law enforcement 24 hours a day to protect the flame and the public will be able to see it in particular thanks to the passages on the side of the Garden which are widened,” specifies this source. The Louvre site will be at the heart of the Olympics, since a “gala” dinner, orchestrated by the teams of chef Alain Ducasse, will also be organized for around a hundred heads of state and personalities at the Louvre in Paris on the eve of the opening ceremony. Asked about the location of the cauldron during the Olympics after the track mentioned by the Team, the Minister of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra had kicked in on RMC five days ago: “It will especially arrive from May 8 in Marseille,” she evaded.
Last relay
For the moment, we do not know if the cauldron will be lit at the Tuileries by the last bearer of the flame, or if a temporary cauldron will be lit elsewhere at the time of the opening ceremony and moved afterwards. During previous editions of the Olympic Games, such as in Rio (2016) or Tokyo (2021), the cauldron had been lit in a stadium (at the Maracana for Rio and at the Olympic stadium for Tokyo) before being moved to the cities.
The torch relay, which will be lit on April 16 in Olympia (Greece), will begin in France in Marseille on May 8, after a journey of more than ten days between Athens and the Phocaean city on the three-masted “Belem”. After a journey of almost more than two and a half months, passing through nearly 400 cities in France, the relay must end on July 26 in Paris. The name of the last relay still remains shrouded in mystery.