The Paris 2024 Organising Committee unveiled last Feb. 8 the designs of both the Olympic and Paralympic medals ahead of the next Olympic Games in July and August, all of which will feature a special metallic piece that were once attached to the Eiffel Tower.
Pieces of the Eiffel Tower in the 2024 Olympic Medals
According to a press release by the Olympics, this is the first set of bronze, silver, and gold medals that will be adorned by a piece of the host country's foremost significant and known symbol.
In the case of the upcoming games, which France will host, the medals will incorporate a small knob of iron from its world-famous Eiffel Tower.
The Olympics, after producing around 36,600 medals since the tradition was initiated in the 1896 Athens Games, approved the momentous design choice that the current Organising Committee made in hopes of integrating France's uniqueness and identity into the ceremonial objects.
Of the decision, Paris Organising Committee President Tony Estanguet said: "There was a huge amount done to try to bring together these precious metals - gold, silver, and bronze - with the most precious metal in the Eiffel Tower, the jewel in the French crown."
"What's impactful for this year will be having a part of the original Eiffel Tower metal, the iron, in these various medals, and so this is what we wanted to do, to infuse all these 2024 athletes with that metal," he continued.
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How Chaumet Made the 2024 Variation of the Olympic Medals
The Eiffel Tower chunks were taken from girders and other bits that were cut during renovations, as reported by NPR. These pieces were then stored for safekeeping, which caused the pieces to accumulate quite a bit.
Catching wind of this information, the Paris Organising Committee then approached the tower's administrative company, Eiffel Tower Operating Co., to see if it could make "reality" its "dream" of "infusing" pieces from the country's "crown jewel" to the medals. The company agreed.
After stripping the iron chunks of its paint, it was then polished, varnished, and imprinted with the "Paris 2024" logo and the Olympics' iconic symbol.
Realizing this endeavor was the internationally acclaimed Paris-based jewelry manufacturer, Chaumet, whose intricate designs are now plastered across the unique iteration of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic medals.
The actual precious metals are placed around the Eiffel Tower iron bits, in a crinkled manner that reflects light in such a way that it produces a "shiny" effect. According to the committee, all of the metals used were recycled.
In respect of its hexagonal shape which is representative of France, the medals are now referred to as "L'Hexagone."
