2024 Olympic Games: Eiffel Tower Is Getting A $60 Million Golden Makeover

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As Paris gears up to host the 2024 Olympic Games, the Eiffel Tower is undergoing the most extensive renovations in its 130-year history and is being painted a dazzling new shade of gold.

The Eiffel tower represents a part of national heritage. For decades it's been the symbol of France and Paris.

The new makeover is the most extensive revamp work in the tower’s 130-year history, as all 19 previous coats of brown colour paint sported since 1968 are being removed, and is being replaced with the ‘yellow-brown’ shade that Gustave Eiffel (the man who built the Eiffel Tower) himself wanted for his monument.

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"Why did Gustave Eiffel pick yellow-brown? Probably so the Eiffel Tower would echo the whole city of Paris, with its cut-stone houses made of limestone," said Pierre-Antoine Gatier, the chief architect for France's historical monuments who decided on the colour change. Patrick Branco Ruivo, the CEO of the company operating the tower, also spoke about the revamp plan, "It's going to give the Eiffel Tower a bit more of a gold hue than the colour that we're used to seeing, in time for the Olympic Games."

The renovation job for the 324-metre iconic Parisian landmark, with its 18,000 metal pieces held together by 2.5 million rivets will cost around $60 million, which is expected to be completed in 2022, just in time for the 2024 Olympic Games.

The stripping of the old layers is made hazardous by the presence of lead, requiring a strict health protocol for workers.

Read More: Paris Olympic 2024: Flying Taxis Will Fly Spectators To The Stadium

The Eiffel Tower receives a new coat of paint every seven years, as much for the protection of its metallic structure from the wind, rain, sun and pollution, as for the maintenance of its looks.

The tower will serve as the backdrop for the triathlon and open water swimming events to be held in the Seine. Beach volleyball events will be held opposite the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars, fencing and taekwondo under the glass roof of the Grand Palais and archery on the esplanade at Invalides. The Champs-Elysées will be the setting for cycling and the park of the Palace of Versailles for equestrian events. A great spectacle in prospect!

Iconic French sporting venues will of course be playing their part. The Stade de France which staged football's 1998 World Cup final and Euro 2016 final, will host the opening and closing ceremony and football matches will take place at the Parc des Princes. As for tennis and boxing events, they will be held at the prestigious Roland Garros stadium, while the gardens of former royal palace Versailles will host the equestrian events - eventing, showjumping and dressage.

The areas surrounding the tower are also expected to host a series of shows, concerts and other entertainment events during the Games.

The International Olympic Committee named Paris as hosts for the 2024. This would be the third time Paris has staged the Olympics, coming exactly 100 years after they last hosted the Games.

While you may well have avoided it on recent trips, this latest $60 million glow-up could put the Eiffel Tower back on the must-visit list. As 2024 onwards the Eiffel Tower will be in complete new look whenever you make visit to the City of Light.