Eiffel Tower Andrew P. Scott-USA TODAY Sports

For the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the city of Paris placed the Olympic rings at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower – the most notorious and visible landmark in the city. While most assumed that the rings were simply temporary and would be removed from the iconic landmark after the conclusion of the Olympics, that does not seem to be the case, after all.

During a recent interview with Ouest-France, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo revealed that the Olympic rings will remain on the Eiffel Tower permanently even though the Olympics have been concluded for several weeks now.

“I want the two to remain married,” Hidalgo told the outlet during a recent interview according to the New York Times.

“As mayor of Paris, the decision is up to me and I have the agreement of the IOC (International Olympic Committee),” Hidalgo said. “So yes, they (the rings) will stay on the Eiffel Tower.”

Hidalgo also hopes that the Olympic cauldron will be allowed to stay in the Tuileries Gardens that are attached to the Tower, but the final decision on that will come down to President Emmanuel Macron as the Gardens are state property and do not belong to the city of Paris.

It’s a pretty bizarre decision. We’ll have to see how long the rings remain.

[New York Times]