Paris Is Already Prepping for the 2024 Olympics by Painting the Eiffel Tower Gold

The Eiffel Tower is getting a brand-new look ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

According to reports, the iconic Parisian landmark will get a little bit of a facelift ahead of the Olympic Games in the city. Over the next several years, crews will work to strip off years of paint and rust before applying a new layer of gold paint to make it shimmer and shine day and night.

And really, the tower has earned it. Considering it opened in 1889 at the World's Fair, the landmark is not only getting on in age but, as Lonely Planet pointed out, it's also been painted 19 times over the years in bright orange, green, and yellow hues, meaning it's likely a good time for a deep-clean and re-do with an updated brown-yellow color to give it a golden glow.

panoramic view on the Eiffel tower at sunrise

"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," Pierre-Antoine Gatier, the chief architect for France's historical monuments shared with Hong Kong Tatler.

Patrick Branco Ruivo, the CEO of the company operating the tower, added, "It's going to give the Eiffel Tower a bit more of a gold hue than the color that we're used to seeing, in time for the Olympic Games."

The makeover will cost an estimated €50 million ($60 million). It could also prove to be a rather dangerous task for crews due to the hazards of stripping old paint that may contain lead.

The work will likely be completed in 2022, long before the games begin. This will set up the Eiffel Tower to serve as a stunning backdrop for the triathlon and open water swimming events, Time Out reported. The surrounding area will also serve as the place to be for entertainment events during the games, making that golden makeover all the more important.

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