Home / Sports

French Artist JR Carries the Olympic Flame Through the Louvre

By Jessica Stewart on July 17, 2024

The countdown to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics is on. On Bastille Day, just shy of two weeks from the July 26 opening ceremonies, the Olympic Torch Relay made its way through the French capital. Weaving through famous monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge, and Arc de Triomphe, the Olympic torch also stopped at the Louvre, where it was carried by French artist JR.

JR is one of 10,000 torchbearers who helped move the torch from Greece to its final destination in Paris' Jardin des Tuileries. French skier Sandra Laoura handed JR the flame in front of the iconic Louvre Pyramid, which is fitting considering that the artist once created a grand illusion that included the Pyramid.

Holding the sleek minimalist torch, which was designed by Mathieu Lehanneur, he then took the flame on a tour of the iconic museum. The artist captured the moment, which he called “pretty crazy,” on Instagram and even stopped to pose in front of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

“Walking the Olympic torch through the Louvre was a wild convergence of moments for me,” he told artnet. “The museum is such an iconic, precious monument in Paris.”

After JR's time was up, he passed the flame to French dancer and choreographer Marie-Claude Pietragalla, who carried it past masterpieces like Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People.

JR's inclusion on the list of torchbearers is fitting. He's a shining representative of French art and has a long history with the Olympic Games. In 2016, he installed enormous images of athletes across Rio de Janeiro in honor of the Summer Olympics.

This leg of the Olympic Torch Relay is the culmination of a tradition that begins in Greece before each Olympic Games. After crossing the Meditteranean and landing in Marseilles, the flame began its three-month journey across France. Passing through over 400 French towns and cities, it's a way to get the public excited about the event to come.