The Paris 2024 Organising Committee have unveiled the medals for the 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games that the athletes will be competing for in July and August 2024.
So with five table tennis events (men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, men’s team event and women’s team event), there will be 30 Olympic medals awarded (10x Gold, 10x Silver, 10x Bronze) to table tennis athletes in 2024, and in addition, coaches will also receive medals.
Paris 2024 medals (blue ribbons) and Paralympic medals (red ribbons)
At the unveiling ceremony on Thursday 8 February 2024, the Paris 2024 Organising Committee explained that they worked on the design of the medal with French jeweller Chaumet, to combine the most wanted object of the Games (a medal) with the most iconic symbol of France and Paris (the Eiffel Tower).
Founded in 1780, Chaumet is the first jeweller in the history of the Games to have the honour of creating the design of the Olympic and Paralympic medals.
Renowned worldwide for their expertise, elegance and embodiment of French craftsmanship, Chaumet has brought the medal into the world of high jewellery.
Each element is designed to reflect a part of the identity of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 and each medal is embellished with a piece of original iron from the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower, built between 1887 and 1889, underwent renovation work during the 20th century and certain metallic elements were permanently removed. They have been carefully preserved ever since.
The Eiffel Tower Operating Company has now allowed these pieces of Parisian and French history to be incorporated into the 2024 Olympic medals.
Front side of Olympic medals…
Paris 2024 gold medal
Paris 2024 called on the LVMH jewellery house, Chaumet, to conceive the design of its medals.
Globally renowned for their craftsmanship, Chaumet has made the medal into a veritable jewel, with a design conceived around three sources of inspiration: the hexagon, radiance and gem-setting.
Let’s take a look at each of these…
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The Hexagon
The original Eiffel Tower iron is formed in a hexagon – the geometrical shape of France.
This symbol is a reminder of the whole nation’s engagement in delivering historic Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Stripped of its “Eiffel Tower brown” paint, the iron has been returned to its original colour.
Placed in the centre and imprinted with the emblem of the Paris 2024 Games, this piece of heritage fits perfectly within the gold, silver and bronze medals.
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Radiance
On the front of the medal, fine lines project outwards at regular intervals from around the iron hexagon.
Embossed rather than engraved, these lines bring relief and sparkle to a medal that is far from being smooth.
This creative concept embodies both the radiance of France in the world and the shining performances of the athletes at the Games.
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Gem-setting
In order to bring together these two icons – the Eiffel Tower and the Games medal – an equally symbolic craft was required.
Thanks to the creativity of LVMH and the House of Chaumet, the medal is encrusted with the piece of iron.
Six metal appendages – one for each corner – are used to fix the hexagon in place.
This encrusting is possible due to the slightly concave shape of the medal, which adds depth to the design of each side.
For Paris 2024, the distinctive “Clous de Paris” hobnail shape, resembling the famous Eiffel Tower rivets, has been chosen for the setting.
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Rear side of Olympic medals…
As with every edition of the Games, the other side of the Olympic medal tells the story of the rebirth of the Games in Greece.
A traditional feature of the medals since 2004, the goddess of victory, Athena Nike, is represented in the foreground, emerging from the Panathenaic Stadium that witnessed the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896.
Another compulsory feature of the rear of the Olympic medals, the Acropolis, is now joined by the Eiffel Tower for the first time in this design.
In this way, the inspiration of the ancient Games in Greece; the French origins of the modern Olympic Games; and their next edition in Paris; are all represented.
The rear side of the Paralympic medals is a pure reflection of Paris 2024 and Chaumet’s creative choices.
A graphic representation of the Eiffel Tower from an upward perspective and the words “Paris” and “2024” surround the feet of the tower, written in universal Braille, the symbolic language of accessibility and a reference to its French inventor, Louis Braille.
To enable athletes with visual impairments to feel the difference between the medals, dashes are engraved on the edge: I for gold, II for silver and III for bronze.
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The Ribbons
The medal ribbons are adorned with the Eiffel Tower lattice work.
The Olympic medal ribbons will be dark blue, while those of the Paralympic medals will be a deep red – a mix of the first two coats of paint (“Venice red” and “red-brown”) used on the Eiffel Tower.
Paris 2024 Olympic medal ribbons are dark blue
Paris 2024 Paralympic medal ribbons are a deep red
Tony Estanguet, President of Paris 2024, said…
“At Paris 2024, we were faced with a new challenge: to magnify the medals and ensure that they said something about our Olympic and Paralympic Games.
We wanted these medals to be truly unique, to bear the Paris 2024 signature.
To achieve this, we married the strongest symbol of the Games, the medal, with the ultimate symbol of Paris and France around the world, the Eiffel Tower.
In what has been a unique creative journey, with strong involvement from the Paris 2024 Athletes Committee, we have enjoyed the honour and
fortune to work with the House of Chaumet, the world-renowned expert jeweller famous for its expertise, elegance and embodiment of French craftsmanship.Thanks to Chaumet, the Paris 2024 medals have been designed like real pieces of jewellery – on both sides, they will show the most beautiful face of France.
With their piece of the Eiffel Tower, they will be totally unique, creating a genuine link between the medal-winning athletes and our country.”
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