This mysterious object has been offered to all medal winners since the beginning of the Olympic Games.
Since the beginning of the Olympic Games, the events have followed one after the other, and with them the medal ceremonies, always charged with emotion. The smiles and tears of the athletes intermingle, between joy and sometimes disappointment, as they climb onto the podium to seek what they have been training hard for for years. More than a hundred athletes have already received a medal, gold, silver or bronze in one of the magnificent Parisian settings that are hosting the event for the first time since 1924.
But there is another reward that intrigues thousands of spectators and television viewers several times each day. After being decorated with their precious medals which, let us remember, all contain a small piece of the Eiffel Tower, the first three in each discipline are given a small cardboard box. Since no one dares to open it on the podium, it is impossible to know what is hidden inside these small packages. Given their rectangular and elongated shape, one could think of a beautiful watch, a branded pen or even a bracelet with the “Paris 2024” logo.
But what is this object that suddenly replaces the traditional bouquets of flowers usually given on the podiums? It is a replica of the official poster for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games designed by Frenchman Ugo Gattini. Unveiled last March, this very colorful collector’s drawing must represent, according to the artist, “a stadium city open to the world, a suspended time in which we can stroll through microcosms where Parisian monuments and sports disciplines happily coexist.” It is therefore this poster, reproduced in a limited edition, which is offered to all those who know the joy of standing on the podium of the Olympic Games organized this year in the City of Light.
And that’s not all. The Olympic medalists will leave with another gift that is not given to them during the official ceremony. So you won’t see it, but from Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to Léon Marchand, via Manon Apithy-Brunet to the rugby 7s players and all the other French and foreign medalists, all will receive a copy of the official mascot of the Paris Games. But their stuffed animal will not be like all the others since it will be personalized with the medal they have won drawn on Phryge’s belly.