With just 50 days to go until the 2024 Paris Games, the French capital's iconic monument has been given the Olympic treatment, with a display of the five coloured rings unveiled Friday.
The 29- by 13-metre structure of rings, made of recycled steel, was installed overnight Friday on the south side of the Eiffel Tower, overlooking the Seine River.
Each ring measures 9 metres in diameter.
Two huge cranes were used to lift the 30-ton structure and mount it between the first and second floors of the tower.
The Olympic rings will be illuminated every night with 100,000 LED bulbs.
Paris's most iconic monument – nicknamed La Dame de Fer (The Iron Lady) – will feature prominently in the Paris Games and the following Paralympics.
Beach volleyball competitions will be held at the foot of the 135-year-old landmark.
The matches will be watched by nearly 13,000 fans at the temporary Eiffel Tower Stadium on the nearby Champ de Mars, where Parisians and tourists flock to picnic on the grass or watch 14 July firework displays.
Pieces of steel taken from the Eiffel Tower have been embedded in the Olympic and Paralympic medals.
The Paris Olympics will take place from 26 July to 11 August, and the Paralympics from 28 August to 8 September.
(with newswires)
