Last week, the 2024 Olympic torch arrived in Le Havre, marking the final stage of its two-month long relay in anticipation of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, which kick off on 26 July. As the world’s gaze turns to the city for what is to be the most anticipated sporting event of the year, the torch has already captured the imagination of those far and wide with its harmonious design.
Developed by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, who is known internationally for projects that stretch the realms of product design, architecture, craft, and technology, the torch was designed to be both modest and balanced. For Lehanneur, designing the Olympic torch is “a designer’s dream: a dream that only comes true once in a lifetime, like a miraculous encounter with history. As ritualistic as it is magical, the torch is a mythical object.”