The Paris 2024 Olympics kicked off with an undoubtedly breathtaking ceremony! But amidst all the glitz and glamour, an enigmatic masked man stole the spotlight, despite the noticeable blunders. As athletes with global acclaim paraded down the River Seine, the camera and audience couldn’t help but notice a mysterious figure. The figure holding the Olympic torch ran and parkoured across the city’s landmarks of lights!

Speculation spread like wildfire afterward! The fan guesses ranged from Snoop Dogg to football stars like Kylian Mbappe being behind the mask. The world much like fans were eager to uncover the man behind it. The masked man, also known as the Flame Bearer showed up in an outfit that shared a resemblance with Ezio Auditore from the Assassin’s Creed series.

The iconic outfit was a masterstroke of Jolly Thomas, the Artistic Director of the Paris Olympics. Thomas and his team of fashion savants were the hands behind it. Popular French stylist Daphné Bürki and designer Olivier Bériot designed this iconic outfit, inspired by various characters from French culture. Daphné recently took it to Instagram and wrote, “The Flame Bearer! Important character imagined by @thoma.jolly It was necessary to create a superhero inspired by several masked characters that marked French literature and cinema: Belphégor, the Iron Mask, the Phantom of the Opera, Ezio d’Assassin’s Creed, Fantomas, or Arsène Lupin…”

Thomas sharing the same post on his story, also added, “And it was @zenzelreal who made him twirl on the roofs of Paris.” Zenzel, a French artist and movement director also shared the excitement of taking on this role. He wrote, “To be behind this character during the last five months was a great pleasure for me. You (referring to Thomas) are a great gentleman with beautiful ideas.” However, it is being said that there are multiple faces behind this mask. Internet personality,  Simon Nogueira initially posted about his role in the performance on Instagram. But Simon quickly removed the post, keeping the speculations alive. But that was not all that happened at the opening ceremony!

Thomas Jolly’s Mastery at the Opening and Closing Events

Jolly’s ambitious vision made the opening ceremony an iconic one despite all the unfortunate moments! For the first time in Olympic history, the ceremony was outside a stadium. But instead on the iconic River Seine! Jolly had a dream team by his side with Daphné Bürki and Olivier Bériot for costumes. Let’s not forget the contributions from talented writers and journalists serving as co-authors! The roster included Leïla Slimani, Patrick Boucheron, Fanny Herrero, and Damien Gabriac.

But this team was incomplete without Maud Le Pladec! Maud is the director of Orléans’ National Choreographic Center and the woman behind the 3-hour and 45-minute movement extravaganza. The Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) added on to the iconicity by filming the event in unprecedented ways. To ensure no moment was missed, a significantly higher number of cameras and equipment compared to the Tokyo Olympics were used.

Jolly’s vision extends beyond the opening ceremony. He is the man behind the closing ceremony! To top it all Thomas will also be leading the much-awaited opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games. Talking about the experience, Jolly said, “I’m very lucky because this is the first time that a single artistic director has been appointed to work on the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies. I also feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to create an unprecedented opening ceremony.” The world eagerly awaits to see what the Paralympic Games, which is set to happen in late August!