Paris mayor wants Olympic flame balloon to stay near Louvre after games end

8/8/2024 13:48

        Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she hopes the Olympic flame suspended below its balloon can remain in central Paris near the Louvre museum after the games end.
        
        The flame - which is not a flame but an illusion of fire created with lights - has become a fixture of the Paris Olympics, with hundreds of Parisians and tourists coming to watch it every evening when it goes up at sundown in the Jardin des Tuileries park near the Louvre.
        
        Hidalgo said it was not her decision to make, as the Louvre and Tuileries are state property, but added she had written to President Emmanuel Macron, asking for the flame to remain in place and not be moved to another location.
        
        The designer of France's Olympic cauldron, Mathieu Lehanneur, has said it would be an honour if the attraction were to become a permanent feature of the Paris skyline, much like the Eiffel Tower did after the 1889 World Fair.