Bronze medallist Italy's Luigi Samele celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony
The 2024 Paris Olympics have officially begun, bringing together the world's finest athletes vying for the ultimate prize. This year's Olympic medals hold a secret that will make them truly unforgettable - a piece of Paris itself. Embedded within each medal is a fragment of the iconic Eiffel Tower.
Winners across the 329 events, taking place until mid-August, will receive these unique medals, each containing 18 grams of ironwork from the Eiffel Tower, salvaged during its 20th-century renovations and maintenance. The medals' design, inspired by the iconic monument, features a lattice pattern on the blue ribbons, which echo the Eiffel Tower's ribbing.
Crafted by luxury jewellers Chaumet and produced by the Monnaie de Paris, the medals reflect Paris' famous nickname, 'The City of Lights'. The gold medals weigh 529 grams, silver medals 525 grams and bronze medals 455 grams. A similar design will be used for the Paralympic medals, featuring red ribbons.
Earlier in February, the official X handle of the Olympic Games revealed, "When the structure underwent renovation work in the 20th century, certain metallic elements were removed and carefully preserved. Now, the Societe d'Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel has given these rare pieces of history a second lease of life ahead of #Paris2024.
Later, it revealed the exciting news, "The most unique, historic and unforgettable souvenir of Paris! Every #Paris2024 Olympic and Paralympic medal will be adorned with a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower."
The Paralympic medals display an underneath view of the Eiffel Tower and are inscribed with "Paris 2024" in Braille, paying tribute to the French inventor of the writing system.
"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," Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, said, as per Forbes.
Around 5,084 medals have been made for the Paris Olympics, with approximately 2,600 for the Olympics and 2,400 for the Paralympics.