Current:Home > MarketsSignalHub-Paris 2024 Olympics medals unveiled, each with a little piece of the Eiffel Tower right in the middle -FinTechWorld
SignalHub-Paris 2024 Olympics medals unveiled, each with a little piece of the Eiffel Tower right in the middle
Rekubit View
Date:2025-04-11 05:53:50
Paris — There's another metal on SignalHuboffer for winners at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. In addition to the customary gold, silver and bronze, each winner's medal will feature a small piece of iron straight from the Eiffel Tower. Small chunks of the iconic tower — an instantly recognizable symbol of Paris and of France — have been included in the medals to mark 100 years since the City of Light last hosted the Olympic Games.
Organizers unveiled the medals Thursday, just six months before the Paris games are set to get underway.
Every individual medal has at its center a hexagon of iron from the tower. They all come from pieces removed from the structure during different renovations over the last century. The pieces of metal were carefully preserved, and the organization in charge of the Eiffel Tower's preservation donated them to the Paris Olympic committee to create the unique medal designs.
Jean-François Martins, President of the Société d'Exploitation de la tour Eiffel, said at the unveiling that he hoped the athletes would appreciate the "unforgettable souvenir of Paris" made from "this unique metal."
The Eiffel Tower is made entirely of a special type of iron known as "puddle" iron. Manufactured in forges and blast furnaces in Lorraine, eastern France, the cast iron produced by reducing iron ore is refined with an operation called "puddling." By removing the excess carbon still present in cast iron, puddle iron is made into an almost pure material, which is extremely strong.
The tower was erected in 1889 as part of the Universal Exhibition. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, it was originally intended to be a temporary structure, but it captured so much attention that officials decided to keep it standing on the bank of the River Seine.
The Olympic and Paralympic medals were designed by craftworkers at the famous Chaumet House of Jewellery, which is part of the luxury LVMH group. It's the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games that a jeweller has designed the medals.
"The Maison Chaumet creative team has conceived each medal as a jewel, taking inspiration from the Parisian craftsmanship of its legendary Place Vendôme workshops and illustrating the vocation shared by all the Houses in our group: the ability to make people dream," said Antoine Arnault, of LVMH Image & Environment. "We hope that each athlete will enjoy wearing and admiring the medal as much as we enjoyed creating it for them."
"A symbol of excellence, a source of motivation, of surpassing oneself and of ultimate achievement, medals are much more than objects: They represent the apotheosis in the career of elite athletes," said Tony Estenguet, President of Paris 2024. "Their power to fascinate and inspire goes far beyond the circle of athletes."
Estenguet also noted that the Paris 2024 organizers had said from the start that they wanted to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games closer together. The torch design is the same for both and, to continue that philosophy, the medals for both Games share a common face, the side with the hexagon of iron from the tower.
The other side is different. The Olympic medals feature the goddess of victory, Nike, emerging from the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Olympic Games were revived in 1896. In a nod to 2024, the Eiffel Tower is seen in the background, along with the Acropolis.
The Paralympic medals feature a low-angle view under the Eiffel Tower. In keeping with the spirit of inclusion in the Games, the inscriptions "Paris" and "2024" are written in universal Braille — the script invented by Frenchman Louis Braille. And to ensure the three different metals can be distinguished by touch, lines are engraved on the edge of each medal, I for gold, II for silver and III for bronze.
The design of Olympic medals has become standardized to a degree, with each featuring the goddess Nike and the Olympic rings, as well as the name of the games in question and the discipline or sport concerned. Each organizing committee is free to adapt the primary design and choose a unique design for the reverse side, however. There is no standardization of the Paralympic medals.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will run from July 26 until Aug. 11, and the Paralympic Games from Aug. 28 through Sept. 8.
- In:
- Paris
- Olympics
- Eiffel Tower
- Paralympics
- France
veryGood! (12334)
Related
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Tess Gunty on The Rabbit Hutch and the collaboration between reader and writer
- 16-year-old left Missouri home weeks ago. Her dad is worried she's in danger.
- Protesters march through Miami to object to Florida’s Black history teaching standards
- South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
- A viral video of a swarm of sharks in the Gulf of Mexico prompts question: Is this normal? Here's what an expert says.
- 'Means the world': Pink responds to being first female stadium headliner in Wisconsin
- New SAVE student loan plan will drive down payments for many: Here's how it works
- Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
- Israel may uproot ancient Christian mosaic. Where it could go next is sparking an outcry.
Ranking
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson Break Up After His Outfit-Shaming Comments
- US attorney pleads with young men in New Mexico’s largest city: Stop the shooting
- Sixth person dies from injuries suffered in Pennsylvania house explosion
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- More than 800,000 student loan borrowers are getting billions of dollars in debt forgiveness this week
- Florida Woman Allegedly Poured Mountain Dew on Herself to Hide Evidence After Murdering Roommate
- Trump, co-defendants in Georgia election case expected to be booked in Fulton County jail, sheriff says
Recommendation
Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
Biden to visit Maui on Monday as wildfire recovery efforts continue
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari Break Up After One Year of Marriage
Blind Side family accuses Michael Oher of shakedown try
New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
GA indictment poses distinctive perils for Trump, identifying bodies in Maui: 5 Things podcast
Jerry Moss, co-founder of A&M Records and Rock Hall of Fame member, dies at 88
Remains of Myshonique Maddox, Georgia woman missing since July, found in Alabama woods