Remember the cauldron of Paris 2024? A golden hot-air balloon in the middle of the city? Of course we had to go see it!
Free viewing tickets were impossible to get (like all tickets for these Games) but hey, the balloon was in the air, right? So on Sunday after the opening ceremony, we hopped on the métro and went into town. It was a lovely warm summer evening, and we walked from Invalides over to the Tuileries where the cauldron (la Vasque) was, staying on the opposite bank at first.
Then we crossed and realized we could get pretty close without any tickets whatsoever.
Did you know the Cauldron had no real flame? It was a LED lighting system plus a cloud of mist generated by a lot of water jets. We got to see it up close.
No real flame – it’s LED lights and a cloud of mist – awesome, right?
We finished off with some great shots from the Arc de Triomphe du Carroussel, the small triumphal arch just across from the Louvre. There were lots of people everywhere, and ten times more different languages than what you usually hear in the tourist areas of Paris. It felt very special to be a part of this.
The Vasque seen through the Arc de Triomphe du Carroussel
Finally, the moment has come. The day is here. It is Friday, July 26, 2024, and tonight’s the night of the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
No, wait. We’re not there yet. In the morning, France wakes up to reports of arson attacks on the French high-speed railway during the night. Chaos ensues, and reportedly, some spectators who paid a fortune for their Opening Ceremony seats (tickets cost over 1,000 euros) didn’t make it in time.
But now for real! We’re on the Seine river, it is Friday evening, and I give you—
RAIN!
Yes, thousands and thousands of spectators sit in temporary stands along the river between Austerlitz and Iéna bridges, and it’s pouring down on them. Also on the artists, the VIPS, the security people, and most importantly, on the Olympic athletes in their boats!
I watched a documentary later, and Tony Estanguet, head of the organizing committee and three-times Olympic champion, had tears in his eyes. He’d weathered everything, the arguments, the delays, the politics, and now just as his dream was coming true, the weather gods punished him.
Meanwhile, my family had the very best seats in the house: in front of the TV!
Best view in the house!
You see, the idea of holding the Opening Ceremony on the Seine meant that each spectator only saw a small part “live” and had to follow the rest on one of the big screens. Also, they were being rained down upon. Whereas we were sitting in our warm and dry living room, hadn’t spent a cent on tickets for the night, yet got the very best view.
Many Parisians had applied for free tickets, but those were obviously behind the 1,000-euro-seats and, just as obviously, in the rain.
I don’t regret anything about that night.
The Opening Ceremony changed everything. From the moment the French national colors blue-white-red exploded on Austerlitz Bridge, still hours before the Games were declared open, the mood changed.
Parade, the Paris 2024 hymn by Victor Le Masne
The ceremony was amazing. It started on a fun note, with comedian Jamel Debbouze (you might know him as architect Numerobis in “Asterix: Mission Cleopatra”) taking the Olympic torch to the Stade de France and finding it empty, only to have French football star Zinedine Zidane show up to save the day, racing with the torch into the métro. The métro (predictably) gets stuck, and Zizou tasks three kids with carrying the torch. They meet the Phantom of the Opera who rows them along an underground canal and onto the Seine. Later, a masked Assassin (from Assassin’s Creed, created in France) takes over and carries the torch over rooftops, checking in on rebuilt Notre Dame cathedral and rehearsals for Les Misérables musical. At one point, the torch is handed over to a cavalière on a silver horse named Zeus riding on the river to the Trocadéro. Only for more torchbearers to get in a speedboat and take the torch back to the Tuileries where the cauldron, a golden Montgolfière—a nod to History—is lit by an Olympian and a Paralympian.
Céline Dion rallies her voice to sing live from the Eiffel Tower, and a volunteer gets her fifteen minutes of fame holding the umbrella for organizing committee boss Tony Estanguet during his Opening Ceremony speech.
I was in tears in front of our TV screen. Skepticism? Forgotten. Let the Games begin!
The Jardin des Tuileries is a 55 acres parc located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. Its name derives from the tuileries (brickyards) that were in its place in the 13th century. Catherine de’ Medici, widow of king Henry II and mother of king François II, bought the lands which lay west of the Louvre and outside the Charles V city wall to have a new palace built with more space for gardens. Construction of the Palais des Tuileries began in 1564, and the Italian Gardens were set up on the lands between the new palace and what is today the Place de la Concorde.
The Palais des Tuileries burnt down during the events of the Commune and its remains were demolished in 1883.
This is where the Tulieries Palace stood
The historic axis has a slight kink at the Tuileries Palace site as you will notice if you stand at the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. The straight line that runs from Concorde along the Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile and beyond it to the Grande Arche de La Défense, was originally centered on the façade of the Tuileries Palace. The line east of the Tuileries Palace was centered on the façade of the Louvre, and since the two façades are at slightly different angles, the line in its continuation is not straight.
Look closely at these two images, and you will see the line is not straight!
An Arc de Triomphe is a Triumphal Arch, a concept dating back to Roman times. This particular arch was built by Napoléon Ier in the style of the Arch of Septimius Severus on the Forum Romanum. In the same way at that Roman arch, it commemorates an army and, obviously, a triumph, namely that of the Grande Armée in the years prior to its construction which began in 1806.
But what is a carrousel? In this case, the term refers to a type of military dressage. The Place du Carrousel where the arch is located takes its name from the Grand Carrousel, which took place there on June 5-6, 1662, on the orders of Louis XIV to celebrate the birth of his firstborn son Louis (who despite being the Dauphin, did not become king after his father).
The arch was not yet part of a special axis, even though planning and construction of the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile began the same year. In fact, it was built right in front of the Tuileries Palace that closed off the Louvre on its western end and became its gate of honor.
Instead of the destroyed Tuileries Palace, you see elements of the axe historique
I’m sure you have no trouble spotting the Champs Élysées avenue on a map of Paris. It’s long, large, and straight. Its two end points are easily made out – the Place Charles de Gaulle-Étoile with the Arc de Triomphe on one end, the Place de la Concorde with the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre on the other. But did you know there’s more to this straight line?
View of Concorde, Tuileries Gardens and Louvre from the Eiffel Tower
The axe historique (historical axis) or voie triomphale (triumphal way) has a long history that goes back to the 16th century when Catherine de’ Medici, widow of Henry II, had the Tuileries Palace built. The palace burned down during the Commune events, it would be placed between the two “open ends” of the Louvre.
In the 17th century, André Le Nôtre, architect of the Versailles palace gardens, used the royal residence of the Tuileries Palace as reference when he created an avenue running westwards, planning as far as today’s Rond-Point des Champs Élysées.
Today, the axe historique starts at the Louvre, or even at the bell tower of the Saint Germain l’Auxerrois church and ends at the Grande Arche de la Défense.
Let’s explore the axe historique step by step, east to west.
