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Paris’ iconic cauldron from the Olympic Games returns to light up summer nights

Published: 23 Jun. 2025, 13:27

The helium balloon cauldron that was used during the 2024 Olympic Games, now named the Paris Cauldron, is launched in the Tuileries Gardens on June 21 in Paris. [AP/YONHAP]

A year after it captivated crowds during the Paris Olympics, the centerpiece of the Summer Games made a comeback Saturday to light up the French capital's skyline.

The iconic helium-powered balloon that attracted masses of tourists during the Summer Games has shed its Olympic branding and is now named the Paris Cauldron. It rose again into the air later Saturday, lifting off over the Tuileries Garden just as the sun was about to set.

Despite the suffocating hot weather in Paris, around 30,000 people were expected to attend the launch, which coincided with France’s annual street music festival — the Fete de la Musique, the Paris police prefecture said.

And it won't be a one-time event. After Saturday's flight, the balloon will lift off into the sky each summer evening from June 21 to Sept. 14, for the next three years.

The cauldron’s ascent joins the rhythm of the Parisian summer, with special flights planned for Bastille Day on July 14 and the anniversary of the 2024 opening ceremony on July 26.

Gone is the official “Olympic” branding — forbidden under International Olympic Committee reuse rules — but the spectacle remains.

The 30-meter (98-foot) -tall floating ring, dreamed up by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and powered by French energy company EDF, simulates flame without fire: LED lights, mist jets and high-pressure fans create a luminous halo that hovers above the city at dusk, visible from rooftops across the capital.

Though it stole the show in 2024, the cauldron was only meant to be temporary, not engineered for multiyear outdoor exposure.

To transform it into a summer staple, engineers reinforced it. The aluminum ring and tether points were rebuilt with tougher components to handle rain, sun and temperature changes over several seasons. Though it is styled as a hot-air balloon, it makes its ascent solely using helium — no flame, no burner, just gas and engineering.

The structure first dazzled spectators during the Olympics. Over 40 days, it drew more than 200,000 visitors, according to officials.

Now anchored in the center of the drained pond in Tuileries Garden, the cauldron’s return is part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s effort to preserve the Games’ spirit in the city, as the world looks ahead to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

AP