Where did the legendary horse that went up the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games come from?

2024-07-28 09:09:51

At night, a masked rider rides this metallic creature into a magical place. An image from the fertile imagination of a workshop in the city of chiefs.

It is one of the main images of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. One of the most magical, too. On Friday, at nightfall, a rider with the Olympic flag rode the full length of the Seine, from Île Saint-Louis to Trocadéro, on an iron horse. A sequence representing the irruption of “Sequana, goddess of the river and symbol of resistance”which usually spreads “Olympic Spirit” in his wake, according to Thomas Jolly. It is enough to delight many avid viewers on social networks.

But where did this primitive creature come from, which seemed to hover above the river? Until Friday evening, the great city of Nantes raised the mystery, indicating its pride in seeing local creatures in great honor in Paris, and made it clear that this rider represents “Cavalcade of Zeus” comes from the imagination of Blam’s workshop. Created in 2015 in Nantes, it is directed by Aurélien Meyer, who is also its artistic director. After passing through the École supérieure de Beaux-arts de Nantes, it was important “Design and Title of Special Machines” to the houses of La Machine – well known among the cities of the Dukes for making the famous Grand Erin of Nantes. An experience which may have inspired the creation shown on Friday evening.

The articulated horse, during the opening ceremony, Friday evening.
Adnan Abidi / REUTERS

In fact, says Blam’s workshop “specializing in the design and manufacture of sophisticated technology and artistic devices. Its field of expertise combines various scales and professions; from architecture to technology through artistic interventions and site-specific installations”, indicates the company, which only has around fifteen employees. His associations are important behind the three rings installed in the Place Charles VII, in Poitiers, the new fountains on the Champs-Élysées, and the interior and exterior decorations of François Pinault’s Bourse du Commerce, in Paris.

Recently introduced in the global company of Sanofi

The construction of this 1m80 articulated horse “A year of work”the workshop told AFP. “It is equipped with a flotation system created especially for the needs of the opening ceremony by naval architects from Quiberon (west of France). The technique publishes as accurately as possible the movements of a horse’s gallop”, we told the company. Movements, supported by celebrities “Image Damage” by Eadweard Muybridge, they measured power by a “The machine hidden under the vehicle”.

Below, the horse is placed “on a light trimaran” carried out with MMProcess, which brings together eight people, in Morbihan, Aurélien Meyer also explained to our colleagues in West France. Everything is piloted by the rider: “With the approval that allowed him to steer the ship, he steered the ship as if he were riding a horse”. Entering the production stage only in February, the work was also tested in Brittany, then run “Tests on the Seine, under the tarpaulin”we had “complete” until the last time.

Empowered by the spectators, this creation that embodies the Olympic flag and the spirit of the domestic competition is, undoubtedly, a source of pride for the people of Nantes. “Atelier Blam combines poetry and creativity, design and technical innovation in pursuit of beauty, wonder and passion. […] I am proud and proud of the opportunity we have in Nantes to have such skills and talents.”, welcomed the mayor of the city, Johanna Rolland, quoted in a press release. For those who want to see the magical creature up close, they will soon have the opportunity: on Saturday, Sanofi, partner of Paris 2024, announced that the horse will appear in “Maison Sanofi, our world headquarters in Paris”. And this, from next October, according to Cojo.