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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡
“The idea is to make permanent the events that Paris has lived through.”
That’s Paris Deputy Mayor Pierre Rabadan, explaining that the city’s idea is to make the Olympic Rings a permanent addition to the Eiffel Tower.
“The Olympic Games are also a symbol of peace, fraternity and, whatever people might say, [the Paris Games] will have marked the history of the city and probably the history of the Olympic Movement. …
“We’re not disfiguring anything. We are going to add a powerful symbol to this iconic structure and this historic Parisian monument.”
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced the plan to keep the Rings on the tower in an interview published on Saturday, saying “As mayor of Paris, the decision is up to me and I have the agreement of the IOC.”
Rabadan insisted that having the Rings on the tower is not a modification out of keeping with its history, as additions – especially of telecommunications and weather monitoring equipment – have been made throughout its history. It was originally erected in 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition and to mark the centenary of the French Revolution.
Rabadan told Agence France Presse that a technical study – being paid for by the International Olympic Committee – is being made now on the replacement of the current, heavy rings, with a lighter version better suited to long-term use on the tower. He said that the IOC could end up paying for the new Rings.
Rabadan also acknowledged that there would be times when the Rings might have to be covered, or made less prominent: “The idea is that they are visible when we want them to be and sometimes they will be less so.”
He brushed aside a report that a Change.org petition against the Rings had received 34,000 signatures by Tuesday:
“When you take decisions like this, you’re always faced with criticism from people who don’t want things to change.”
Some have asked for a more deliberate, legislative process to decide on the addition of the Rings, and Savin Yeatman-Eiffel, the great-great-great grandson of Gustave Eiffel, said in an interview:
“It was an honour and a great pleasure to have those Rings exhibited at the Eiffel Tower for the Olympic Games. There’s no denying that.
“But the idea that those Rings are going to stick forever on the Eiffel Tower … that’s a different story. And that’s where the problem is for us.”
He supports keeping the Rings on the tower for perhaps even a couple of years, but
“The Eiffel Tower has become, since its creation, the symbol of Paris, and to a large extent, the symbol of France for most of the world. So to associate a different symbol, no matter how strong of a symbol it may be, sounds like a very strange idea to us. …
“There’s a long history behind the Eiffel Tower. It’s a very powerful symbol. So I don’t think just one person can make such a decision,” he said.
He would prefer a vote.
¶
Meanwhile, Paris Mayor Hidalgo told a conference of French mayors that it would have been better if Russian and Belarusian athletes had not been admitted to the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games:
“I would have wished that there would not even be a neutral banner, but at least it means they are not celebrated.”
There were 32 “neutrals” at the Olympic Games – 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians – and 96 at the Paralympics (88 + 8). The Paralympic Games conclude on Sunday.
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