Paris Mayor wants to keep Olympic rings on Eiffel Tower

Mayor of Paris Ana Hidalgo on Monday said the Olympic rings mounted on the Eiffel Tower should be kept permanently in the city.

“There are three symbols that we have to deal with so that they can be preserved as heritage,” Hidalgo told radio station France Bleu, first listing the rings of the Eiffel Tower.

Hidalgo then mentioned the cauldron that holds the Olympic flame. The cauldron is located under a giant balloon in the Tuileries Garden. Every night the flame is raised above the ground.

The mayor also wants to install the statues of trailblazing women unveiled for the first time during the city’s opening ceremony after the Games.

“I have long thought they would be in good hands in Paris, especially in the 18th arrondissement. These three beautiful symbolic works of art deserve our full attention,” she said.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesman Mark Adams said organizers would be delighted if Paris kept the rings, adding that the decision was in Hidalgo’s hands.

The five interlocking rings, which are a total of 29 meters wide and 15 meters high, are mounted at a height of 60 meters between the first and second floors, on the side of the Eiffel Tower facing the Seine. Each of the rings has a diameter of 9 meters.