The four-day Paralympic Torch relay reached its final destination, lighting up the Opening Ceremony (28 August) for the Paralympics in Paris. From 25 August to 28 August, 1,000 Forerunners carried the Paralympic flame from its starting place in Stoke Mandeville in England, the birthplace of the Paralympics. It journeyed through the channel tunnel, split into 12 separate flames upon its arrival in Calais, then travelled across 50 cities in France.
Now, coinciding with the start of the Paralympics, steel and mining company ArcelorMittal has released a three-part behind-the-scenes video series, unmasking the creative process behind the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Torches, Rings, and Agitos.
The Olympic and Paralympic torch, designed by Mathieu Lehanneur
Watch ‘The Steel and the Torch’
The series titled, ‘The Steel and the Torch’, showcases a blend of sustainability and innovative design. The first episode, ‘The Concept’, introduces viewers to the creative process and leadership behind the design. It dives into the challenge of intertwining traditions and the ancient origins of the games, with a contemporary twist.
Episode 2, titled ‘The Manufacture’, dives into the manufacturing process of the torches. Inside ArcelorMittal’s facilities, the viewer discovers the intricate process used to craft 2,000 torches in recycled steel. The torch design aligns with Paris’s 2024 goal to halve the environmental impact compared to previous Olympic Games. The recycled scrap material helps to reduce the carbon footprint significantly. In the final episode of the series, ‘The Spectaculars’, ArcelorMittal unveils the top-secret production and installation of the Olympic Rings and Paralympic Agitos, which can be seen on display across Paris’ famous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe.
ArcelorMittal also created the mini-cauldrons that collect the flame from the Torches during the Olympic, and now Paralympic, torch relays, and for the first time in history the torch is symmetrical and the same design is used for both Olympic and Paralympic torches.
The torch was crafted in collaboration with French artist Mathieu Lehanneur, who previously spoke with Wallpaper* about the design, saying, 'The Torch, the Cauldron of the Flame Relay and the Olympic Cauldron are not separate objects, they are chapters in one great story. Each embodies the spirit of the Paris Games. The cauldron takes the form of a ring of fire suspended above a liquid surface. Both pure and magical, it seems to float and is reflected in its metallic base. If the Torch carries the sacred fire from Olympia that is passed on, the cauldron is the object around which we gather, and which unites our energies.'
arcelormittal.comparalympic.org
-
20 things that positively delighted us in and around Design Miami this yearFrom covetable 20th-century masterpieces to a tower made from ceramic pickles, these were the works that stood out amid the blur of Art Week
-
Montcalm Mayfair opens a new chapter for a once-overlooked London hotelA thoughtful reinvention brings craftsmanship, character and an unexpected sense of warmth to a London hotel that was never previously on the radar
-
Magniberg’s latest bedwear collaboration with Our Legacy is beautifully sun-faded and lived-inColoured using dyes derived from plants and minerals, the new bedding sets and pyjamas are meant to evoke the feeling of ‘a well-worn band T-shirt or your favourite vintage sweatshirt’, says Our Legacy co-founder Jockum Hallin
-
Ones to Watch: Plaster Paris Studio unites brutalism and bohemiaDesigners Tessa Rose Vardy and Olivia Engelhardt draw inspiration from the urban landscape of Paris and the laidback warmth of the Balearics
-
Winter Olympics and Paralympics medal designs announcedThe design for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games 2026 medals, held in Milan and Cortina, represents the connection between athletes and their support teams
-
At PAD Paris, Omar Chakil’s new alabaster works for Galerie Gastou fuses Egyptian heritage and contemporary designWe caught up with the French-Egyptian-Lebanese designer, ahead of his collection’s unveiling at PAD Paris next week
-
Our highlights from Paris Design Week 2025Wallpaper*’s Head of Interiors, Olly Mason, joined the throngs of industry insiders attending the week’s events; here’s what she saw (and liked) at Paris Déco Off and Maison&Objet in the City
-
Year in review: top 10 design stories of 2024Wallpaper* magazine's 10 most-read design stories of 2024 whisk us from fun Ikea pieces to the man who designed the Paris Olympics, and 50 years of the Rubik's Cube
-
A theatrical and poetic vision meets minimalism in Pauline Leprince's interior designIn a rapidly changing world, the route designers take to discover their calling is increasingly circuitous. Here Pauline Leprince tells us about utilising her imagination as a powerful design ally
-
First look: ‘Christofle, A Brilliant Story’ is a glittering celebration of silver across two centuriesA landmark Christofle exhibition opens today at Paris’ Musées Des Arts Décoratifs and is the first monographic show dedicated to French silverware house
-
Human gestures shape Milano Cortina 2026's Winter Olympic lookItalian spirit is at the heart of the upcoming Winter Olympic games with pictograms, emblems, and mascots called the 'Vibes'. The idea is to celebrates the Italian way of communicating through expressive movements and gestures
