We’ve had Olympic medals made of recycled electronics before – but never from parts of the Eiffel Tower!
Medals for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris will feature scrap metal from the Tower taken during refurbishments and repairs.
The metal leftovers had been stored for years in a warehouse in a secret location, but are now finally getting a new purpose.
Thierry Reboul, creative director of Paris 2024, said: “It’s the opportunity for the athletes to bring back a piece of Paris with them. The absolute symbol of Paris and France is the Eiffel Tower.”
A French luxury jewellery firm based in Paris designed the medals and 5,084 of them will be produced by France’s mint, the Monnaie de Paris.
History
So is olympic gold medal actually made entirely of gold? Not quite – usually the gold and silver medals are both made of silver.
Olympic gold medals are required to be made from at least 92.5% silver, and must contain a minimum of six grams of gold, often as a coating.
In the past, Olympic medals were actually made of pure gold until 1912, but after World War One, countries swapped to making silver medals with a layer of gold on top.
The bronze medals are usually made of a mix of copper, zinc and tin.
Credit: bbc.com
