PARIS - The Olympic cauldron tethered to a balloon in an iconic Paris park has become one of the hottest tickets at the 2024 Games with thousands flocking every day to see the seven metre wide ring of environmentally friendly fire.
The cauldron flies into the Parisian sky at sunset each day under a 30-metre balloon in the Jardin des Tuilleries park.
The flame made up of clouds of mist lit by LED rays has become a much-talked-about symbol of the Games since it was lit by French sporting icons Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec at Friday's opening ceremony.
Visitors now pack the park, with all available 10,000 daily slots to see the flame taken until the Games close on August 11.
Organisers have promised to add more slots. "We're victims of our own success," they said online.
Paris's newest tourist attraction is free. Three hundred people are admitted to see the flame every quarter of an hour between 11am and 7pm.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the flame is fuel-free.
"A meticulous combination of a cloud of mist and beams of light, the Olympic Flame will flicker with electricity as its sole source of energy," French utility EDF said in a statement.
The ring "incorporates 40 LED spotlights to illuminate the cloud created by 200 high-pressure misting nozzles," the company said, adding that it ensured the flow of electricity and water 60 meters above the ground.