The excitement for a summer of Olympic and Paralympic magic has started as the International Olympic Committee has officially revealed the medals for the iconic Paris 2024 games. It was revealed that podium winners will be taking a piece of the Eiffel Tower home with them as the medals contain scrap metal from one of France's most famous monuments.
In a few months, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will begin, and athletes worldwide will now know the reward that will be placed around their necks if they make it to the podium this summer.
IOCDesigned by jeweller Chaumet in the form of 18-gram hexagonal tokens, pieces of iron taken from the Eiffel Tower have been embossed with the emblem of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, sitting centre stage on each medal. Whether gold, silver, or bronze, each medal contains a very special piece of metal that was once part of the Eiffel Tower.
The fragments sit in the centre of the gold, silver and bronze medals, ringed with grooves evoking light rays bursting outward - drawn from a tiara design in Chaumet's archives. Six small clasps holding the iron pieces in the medals reference the 2.5 million rivets that bind the Eiffel Tower together.
These carefully curated and unique medals help tell the origin story of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games and the revival of the Games in Greece. A traditional figure on the medals since 2004, the goddess of victory Nike, is depicted in the foreground, emerging from the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Olympic Games were revived in 1896.
IOCThe front of the Paralympic medal illustrates a low-angle view under the Eiffel Tower, enabling the medallists to discover the Dame de Fer.
FAQs
When do the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics start?
The Olympic games will take place between July 26 and August 11. The Paralympic Games will take place between August 28 and September 8.
Where are the opening ceremonies going to take place?
France is breaking boundaries by taking both Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremonies outside of the stadium.
The Olympic opening ceremony will take place on the River Seine. Boats for each national delegation will travel down the river, which will be fitted with cameras so you can still see all the athletes up close.
In contrast, for the Paralympic opening ceremony, Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées. The ceremony will open with a famous parade on the iconic Champs-Elysées, involving up to 184 delegations from around the world.
How can I watch the 2024 Paris Olympics?
In the UK, you can watch the Olympics on the BBC and the Paralympics on Channel 4.
You can watch the Olympics in the US on Peacock, NBC, fuboTV and SlingTV. The Paralymics will be avaialble to view on NBC, fuboTV and SlingTV in the US.
