Revised and significantly expanded edition !!!

Torch relay is a tradition that connects the modern Games to their ancient roots. The Olympic flame left the sanctuary of Olympia in Greece on April 16, 2024, before traveling to Marseille and crisscrossing France. The Paralympic flame was lit in Stoke Mandeville, England, the historic birthplace of Paralympic sport, on August 24, 2024, before arriving in Paris after a four-day journey.

Since the first Olympic relays in 1936, the flame has often been transported by air or sea. These transport conditions require protection against shocks, jolts, salt, humidity, or wind, and the safety lamp has established itself as a reliable ally of the Olympic fire. During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the image of the Olympic flame, transported aboard the Belem in a safety lamp, made a lasting impression. Designed to withstand the extreme conditions of the seabed, these lamps allow the Olympic flame to be transported and kept lit between relays, under the supervision of the flame keepers.

The models used for the Paris 2024 Games were designed in the United Kingdom by Protector Lamp Ltd. The use of these lamps at major international events is a fitting tribute to the technologies deployed in mining. Indeed, in 1968, the Houillères du Bassin minier du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais (Coal Mines of the Northern and Pas-de-Calais Mining Basin) already mentioned this use in their company newsletter for the Grenoble Games: "The Olympic flame, which traveled by air to France, could only be transported inside a miner's lamp."

Philippe Estang acquired these lamps, adorned with the PARIS 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games logos, to demonstrate to the public that innovations and expertise from mining also have other prestigious uses. He offers you these Cross-Views, starting with the first use of these safety lamps in 1956 at the Melbourne Olympic Games in Australia.

The PARIS 2024 Olympic and Paralympic lamps and torches acquired by Philippe Es