22 July 2024

“The Rings represent something iconic. They are symbols of the Games, along with the torch and the Agitos for the Paralympics,” says Professor Pierre Engel, the veteran steel engineer who masterminded the recent facelift given to two of Paris’s most famous and loved landmarks.

While most would be daunted by the prospect of suspending 30 tonnes of steel from one of the world’s most iconic towers, for Professor Engel it was just another project, albeit one that the eyes of the world would focus on. After all, he has spent his entire career pushing the boundaries of designing with steel and has previous experience with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, running the project to erect the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the striking 114-metre-tall steel sculpture that stands as a centrepiece on the East London site where the London 2012 Games took place.

The story of how he and his team produced the Olympic Rings and Paralympic Agitos - collectively known as ‘the Spectaculars’ – using XCarb® recycled and renewably produced low-carbon emissions steel [1] and suspending them, overnight, in total secrecy on the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe respectively is the focus of the third and final episode in ArcelorMittal’s Paris 2024 film series, below. Catch up on the full series and other videos here.

Talking about some of the challenges the team had to overcome, Professor Engel said, “We placed the Agitos on a monument made from Conflans stone. There lies the challenge: installing the Agitos without needing to drill into the Arc de Triomphe’s stonework. We managed to achieve a minimal structure that ‘clips’ onto the Arc de Triomphe and fades out of sight by matching its colour to that of the Conflans stone on which it sits.”

Exploring the choice of material, and how it fitted with Paris 2024’s sustainability ambitions, he said, “Why were the Rings made from steel? Because it’s the only material that allowed us to make Rings this large. We’re adept at producing low-carbon steel. We call it XCarb®. It’s about telling the world, ‘we can produce decarbonized steel’. It’s not ‘we will do it,’ it’s ‘we are doing it now’.”

Acknowledging the scale and prominence of the challenge he and his team faced, Professor Engel added, “We worked from midnight to 8am on both the Rings and the Agitos. I am fortunate to have a fantastic team - it’s a bit like an orchestra, but you still must synchronize them to work together. As for the Olympic Games in Paris, it has been a hundred years since we last hosted them. It’s something quite extraordinary, extremely thrilling and exhilarating.”

ArcelorMittal is an official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As part of this partnership, ArcelorMittal has produced 2,000 torches for the Olympic and Paralympic relays, the Olympic Rings that are suspended from the Eiffel Tower and the Paralympic Agitos that has been placed on the Arc de Triomphe. Aligned with Paris 2024’s ambitions to deliver an event that is ‘more responsible, more sustainable, more united and more inclusive’ than any previous Games, all have been manufactured using XCarb® recycled and renewably produced low-carbon emissions steel.

The two previous films from ArcelorMittal’s Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games film series focus on our partnership with Paris 2024, and the concept behind and manufacture of the 2,000 Olympic and Paralympic torches. The films are available to view here.

To read more about ArcelorMittal’s involvement with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games please visit https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/about/our-paris-2024-story.

[1] XCarb® recycled and renewably produced is steel made from at least 70% recycled steel using 100% renewable energy, and hence has a low carbon footprint compared to other traditional steelmaking techniques.