PARIS Parisians won’t be saying “adieu” to the as early as they expected after the city’s mayor announced plans to leave the Olympic rings as a permanent fixture on the Eiffel Tower. “I want the spirit of celebration to remain,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo told the Ouest-France regional newspaper, saying she did not want the Games to be “a side note” in Parisian history but rather a symbol of “the transformation in the city.” “As mayor of Paris, the decision is mine,” she said.
The Olympic rings adorn the Eiffel Tower in Paris on July 10. But the plans have irked the descendants of Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who designed the famous tower, who say it was “not intended as an advertising platform.” “We do not think it appropriate that the Eiffel Tower.
.. should be permanently associated with an external organization, whatever its prestige,” the Eiffel family said in a statement.
The five rings – 95 feet wide and 43 feet high – were installed on the tower before the Olympics opened in July and were expected to be taken down after the Paralympics Closing Ceremony in September, before Hidalgo’s intervention. Because the rings, which weigh 30 tons, are too heavy to remain on the tower permanently, they will be replaced with lighter versions, Paris’ deputy mayor, Pierre Rabadan, told CNN. Medallists parade in front of the Eiffel Tower during the Games.
“We have so many questions not resolved yet because the original rings were heavy and built for temporary times, so we’ll bring them down and create new ones to keep them for a long time,” he said. “We are not changing the Eiffel Tower, we are just adding something for some time,” he said, adding that Hidalgo would “say more about it” next week. Parisians and tourists near the tower on Wednesday were divided on the issue, with some wanting to preserve the memories of the Games and others happy to see the back of them.
Residents of the city set up a petition demanding that the rings be removed from the tower after the Games. More than 36,000 people had signed by Wednesday afternoon. “I think it’s an eyesore,” one said, adding that although the rings bring “something different,” the Eiffel Tower is not a landmark that “needs to change.
” The Olympic rings are displayed on the Eiffel Tower at night between the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Paris on August 19. Another resident said the rings would be a “nice addition” and preserve the “memorable” moments of the Olympics. “I think that impression should remain here in Paris,” he said.
The move has drawn criticism from the country’s culture minister, Rachida Dati, who said that although the rings are a symbol of unity, the “protection of shared heritage” is equally important. Highlighting the tower’s status as a “protected monument,” Dati said any “substantial modification” would need “authorisation.” ___ French swimmer Leon Marchand, left, carries a lantern containing the Olympic flame in the Tuileries garden as the cauldron is slowly extinguished on the final day of the 2024 Summer Olympics ahead of the closing ceremony, Sunday, Aug.
11, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Athletes wave a French flag during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Athletes waves flags during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Flag bearers march during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug.
11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Athletes of the United States parade during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Petr David Josek) British athletes react during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Participants attend the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug.
11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) The Olympic rings are illuminated during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Morry Gash) Fireworks ignite during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Artists perform during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug.
11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Alain Roche plays a piano during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Artists perform during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) Artists perform during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug.
11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/David Goldman) A view of the venue during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Martin Meissner) Phoenix performs during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) President of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, Tony Estanguet, third from left, and IOC President Thomas Bach, fourth from right, embrace with athletes during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug.
11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) United States' gymnast Simone Biles holds the Olympic flag during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Tom Cruise is lowered on the Stade de France during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Tom Cruise is lowered into the stadium during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug.
11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) Tom Cruise carries the Olympic flag during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Tom Cruise rides a motorbike with the Olympic flag attached past athletes during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) Fireworks signal the end of the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony taking place at the Stade de France, Monday, Aug.
12, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Fireworks explode during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France.
(AP Photo/Petr David Josek) Athletes from the United States watch as fireworks explode during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony at the Stade de France, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!.
