STORY: Olympic Rings on Eiffel Tower unveiled 50 days ahead of Paris 2024
SHOOTING TIME: June 7, 2024
DATELINE: June 8, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:09
LOCATION: Paris
CATEGORY: SPORTS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of installation process of the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower
2. various of Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (French): ANNE HIDALGO, Mayor of Paris
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (French): TONY ESTANGUET, President of the Paris 2024

STORYLINE:

The iconic five Olympic rings adorning the exterior of the world-renowned Eiffel Tower were unveiled on Thursday, marking the 50-day countdown to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The five Olympic rings, manufactured by ArcelorMittal, were installed on the iconic Eiffel Tower during the night of June 6-7, standing across the Seine River from Trocadero Square.

"At the Games, we call these giant rings the 'Spectaculars' and could hardly do more spectacular than the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is Paris, it is France. We wanted to create an image that everyone will remember," said President of Paris 2024 Tony Estanguet.

Each ring has a diameter of about 9 meters, and the entire structure is 29 meters wide and 13 meters high. The installation required four cranes and a team of about 30 engineers.

During each edition, the Olympic rings take place in an iconic location in the host city: Tower Bridge in London in 2012, Madureira Park in Rio in 2016, and Odaiba Bay in Tokyo in 2021.

The Olympic rings will remain on the Eiffel Tower until the end of the Paralympic Games.

SOUNDBITE 1 (French): ANNE HIDALGO, Mayor of Paris"Welcome to Paris, welcome to this exceptional moment that Tony (Estanguet) and the whole Olympic team have been waiting for a very long time. The rings on the Eiffel Tower, that is to say on the monument that embodies Paris, the capital of France, the whole of France, so it's a great emotion. And Tony and I were saying earlier that this moment has come a very long way, because the bid was launched in 2015. We've thought about it, dreamed about it, and now it's becoming a reality. And the Eiffel Tower and its rings are the signal that the Games are about to begin. We're almost there, almost there, almost there." 
SOUNDBITE 2 (French): TONY ESTANGUET, President of the Paris 2024 "It's very symbolic, because in just one image you can see that the Games are in Paris, and then it's an exceptional party. We've got a date with the world. We're going to welcome the world. Furthermore, we're also keen to showcase this beautiful region and its monuments. And obviously the most beautiful place, the most obvious place, was the Eiffel Tower to place the ultimate symbol of the Games: the Olympic rings." 
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11, followed by the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Paris.
(XHTV)