Paris 2024 Olympics: where has the REAL Olympic flame gone?

Paris is determined to make Olympic history. Hosting the Olympic Games for the first time in 100 years, the French capital has pulled out all the stops, right from the spectacular opening ceremony with a floating parade of delegations on the Seine and an opening ceremony taking place not in a stadium but in the heart of the city - a first in the history of this sporting competition. The highlight of the show will be the lighting up of the Olympic cauldron, a golden hot-air balloon designed by Mathieu Lehanneur that soars into the sky every evening.

Vasque de Paris 2024: what time can you watch it take off today?
The Paris 2024 balloon is back at the Tuileries Garden in Paris, from June 21 to September 14, 2026. Free to visit during the day, this iconic hot air balloon rises again each evening above the capital. What time can you watch it lift off today? Here are the hours to know before you head there. [Read more]

But be careful, it's not real fire that's burning in this cauldron. For the first time in thehistory of the Olympic Games, it's a flame without fuel that ignites this hot-air balloon. In reality, it's an illusion created by a cloud of mist and beams of light. This levitating cauldron raises another question: what happened to the real Olympic flame?

• To be read
• Best bets for the week of August 17–23, 2026 in Paris and Île-de-France.

Indeed, one of the emblematic traditions of the Olympic Games is thelighting of the flame in Olympia, Greece, and its relay to the Games venue. Paris was no exception to the rule, and the torchbearers didn't carry the Olympic torch only to have a fake flame subtracted from the real thing. In fact, the real Olympic flame is on display right next to the cauldron in the Tuileries Gardens. Lit by the sun's rays in Olympia, it continues to glow in its lantern, and you can observe it up close during your visit!

Paris 2024 Olympics: here's how to see the Olympic cauldron lit up close at the Tuileries Gardens
The Olympic flame is finally burning in Paris, and will be for the duration of the 2024 Olympic Games. To see the lit cauldron up close in the Tuileries Gardens, you can register for free. Explanations. [Read more]