To create the illusion that the horse was galloping on the Seine water, the team had to build a trimaran and find a skilled rider. The animal will be on display in Paris from October onwards.
ADVERTISEMENTA masked woman riding a robotic horse was one of the highlights of the show on the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on 26 July.
The 1.80 metre-long electric trimaran that carried the mechanical steed was designed by the Breton company MMProcess at the Blam workshop.
The installation required a year’s work.
Tests were first carried out at sea in June, at Saint-Pierre-Quiberon, Morbihan. And then, in Paris in the greatest secrecy, in the middle of the night.
« The first challenge is to make a boat that protrudes so little from the surface of the water, we only protrude 15 centimetres from the water, » Madeg Ciret-Le Cosquer, co-founder of MMPProcess said.
From creator to skilled horse rider
To create the illusion that the animal was flying on the waves, the MMPProcess team had to build a trimaran and find a skilled rider.
They were looking for a horse rider or a pilot to jump on the mechanical horse. However, they did not find someone as « it was still quite dangerous ».
The mysterious escort on the evening of the ceremony ended up being the engineer and trimaran’s co-creator Morgane Suquart.
“I really, really enjoyed it – it was a magical moment, the pleasure was really above the stress, above everything, » said Suquart.
Check out the video above for footage of how the opening ceremony illusion was carried out.
