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PARIS — The Paris Olympics cauldron is a ring of fire carried by a hot-air balloon. Instead of the usual ground-bound cauldron used at most Summer and Winter Games, the special edition for the Paris Olympics is intended as a tribute to the first ride taken in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon. That ride was made in 1783 by two of that balloon's French inventors. They departed back then from the Tuileries Garden, which is near the Louvre Museum in the heart of Paris — and where the 2024 Olympic cauldron was lit before appearing to float into the sky on Friday night. The cauldron was created by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and meant as a symbol of liberty.
