Greetings from Paris, where the 2024 Olympics balloon rises again
The iconic floating cauldron from the 2024 Paris Olympics continues to be displayed in the Tuileries Garden, drawing crowds of spectators. The author reflects on the joy and wonder the installation brings to the city two years after the games.
Why it matters
It serves as a cultural touchstone for the legacy of the Paris Olympics and the role of public art in urban spaces.
Hannah Bloch/NPR One of the highlights of the 2024 Paris Olympics was, for me, the sight at the opening ceremony of the floating cauldron held aloft by a giant glowing balloon. So I was thrilled to learn on a recent visit that the vasque — the cauldron — is still making regular appearances two years later, showing up all summer long in the nighttime Paris sky.
Along with hundreds of other spectators, I settled into a spot on the grass between the Louvre and Tuileries Garden to wait and watch on a warm August evening. A couple of hours before the balloon's liftoff from the Tuileries, the area was already packed.
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