Paris 2024: Who Are the Two Companies Behind the Silver Horse of the Opening Ceremony?

This is one of the most enchanting and magical scenes from the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. On Friday night, spectators were mesmerized by a silver mechanical horse galloping along the Seine, ridden by a masked rider. Two French companies are behind this technical marvel.

Several segments of the Paris 2024 opening ceremony will go down in history, with the mechanical horse being a standout. Galloping from east to west along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower over about ten minutes, it was designed to spread the “Olympic spirit.” According to Thomas Jolly, the ceremony’s artistic director, this segment, named “Solidarity,” was intended to embody “the Olympic spirit and Sequana, the goddess of the river and a symbol of resistance.“

Two French companies worked secretly for a year to develop the horse, named “Cavale de Zeus.”

Atelier BLAM

The mechanical horse was first conceptualized at Atelier Blam, a design agency based in Nantes, western France. Specializing in the creation of sophisticated technical and artistic devices, Atelier Blam also contributed to designing the Olympic Cauldron (read our article).

The mechanical horse stands 1.80 meters tall and is made of aluminum shells, which were welded together in the workshop before being covered in silver leaf. The head and hooves were 3D printed in metal.

In an interview with the local newspaper Ouest-France, Aurélien Meyer, artistic director, and Lara Pouclet, agency manager at Atelier Blam in Nantes, explained:

“To create the illusion of a gallop and to synchronize the mechanics of our horse’s legs, we were inspired by the work of 19th-century English photographer Eadweard Muybridge, known for his photographic breakdowns of movement. We had to meticulously consider every detail, from the extended hooves to the curvature of the legs and the articulation of the limbs.”

MMProcess

To navigate the Seine, the horse was mounted on a nearly invisible boat. It was developed by two naval architects from MMProcess, a company based in Quiberon, Brittany. This flotation system was specially designed for the opening ceremony. MMProcess has been manufacturing prototypes for racing boats since 2020.

The 14-meter-long float they developed is made of carbon and powered by an electric propeller. It can reach speeds up to 50 km/h. During the ceremony, it traveled at 27 km/h or 15 knots. And it can support a maximum weight of 2.5 tons.

Command cables at the horse’s reins allowed for steering and speed adjustment.

An illumination system at the bow lit up the horse and its dazzling rider, Floriane Issert, from the French gendarmerie.

Sanofi, a partner of the Games, announced on its website that the horse would first be displayed at the Sanofi House. The company will then donate it to a museum for public viewing.

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