PARIS (NEWSnet/AP) — The Olympic medals intended to be awarded at the Paris Games and Paralympics this summer will each be inlaid with a chunk of the Eiffel Tower.

The design will feature a hexagonal, polished piece of iron taken from the iconic landmark is in each gold, silver and bronze medal. The games begin July 26, and the medal design was presented Thursday.

Olympic medals traditionally have a standard design, but those made for the 2008 Beijing Olympics contained inlaid jade disks.

The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 and gets repaired from time to time. Girders and other pieces that have been removed during renovations were stored for safekeeping, according to Joachim Roncin, head of design at the Paris Games organizing committee.

“The concept came after a few discussions. We realized that there’s one symbol known across the world, which is the Eiffel Tower,” Roncin said. “We said to ourselves, ‘Hey, what if we approached the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. to see if it’s possible to get a bit of the Eiffel Tower to integrate into the medal?’”

The company agreed, and “the dream became reality,” he said. “It’s really a bit of metal from the Eiffel Tower.”

In preparation for use in the medals, the pieces were stripped of paint, polished and varnished. They are stamped with “Paris 2024” and the Games logo.

Around the iron pieces are disks of gold, silver or bronze. They’re crinkled to reflect the light, making the medals shine. Games organizers say the metal is all recycled, not newly mined.

The Paris Mint is manufacturing 5,084 medals — about 2,600 for the Olympics and 2,400 for the Paralympics. Some will be stored in case that medals need to reassigned after the Games. Some go to museums. Any other spares could be destroyed.

Follow NEWSnet on Facebook and X platform to get our headlines in your social feeds.

Copyright 2024 NEWSnet and The Associated Press. All rights reserved.