The night the Olympic and Paralympic cauldron first flew over Paris, its designer Mathieu Lehanneur held his breath: Nothing could go wrong.

Visitors and locals gather each night to watch the Olympic Flame rise above Paris suspended by a huge balloon. But what's really in the cauldron?

The cauldron at the Paris Olympics looks like a hot-air balloon It's a tribute to the first ride taken in a hydrogen-filled gas balloon.

The balloon will lift off into the sky each summer evening from June 21 to Sept. 14, for the next three years.

The Olympic cauldron was set alight, symbolizing the opening of the games. The ceremonial moment is a big deal for Olympics fans and each host country puts their own spin on it.

The designer of France's Olympic cauldron said it would be an "honour" if the hugely popular attraction were to become a permanent feature of the Paris skyline, much like the Eiffel Tower did ...

Lighting the Olympic cauldron is one of the highest ceremonial honors the host nation can bestow on somebody.

This year's cauldron is innovative and unique. The cauldron is a 23-foot-wide ring of flames topped by a 100-foot-tall hot-air balloon.

Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec watch as the cauldron rises in a balloon in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024.

Lighting the Olympic cauldron is one of the highest ceremonial honors the host nation can bestow on somebody.

Lighting the Olympic cauldron is one of the highest ceremonial honors the host nation can bestow on somebody.