At the Paris 2024 Olympics, every medal awarded is accompanied by a narrow cardboard box, but what does it contain?
Many watching the Paris Olympic coverage may have been intrigued by the sight of a narrow cardboard box being handed out to medal winners.
Medallists seem to have been equally nonplussed, left to awkwardly tuck the boxes under their arms while they pose for photographs.
The Paris Olympics has revealed that the box contains an illustrated poster, with a fantastical architectural representation of the Paris Games.
The image, drawn from a bird’s eye view, showcases athletes in action, cheering crowds, statues, and numerous other architectural elements, including a sign reading “XXXIII Olympiade,” marking the 33rd edition of the Games.
Created by Parisian illustrator Ugo Gattoni, the artwork took over 2,000 hours and five months to complete.
Gattoni had previously drawn “Bicycle”, a gigantic cycle race through the streets of England’s capital, inspired by the London 2012 Olympic Games.
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After being commissioned, Gattoni told Olympic.com: “I immediately had an idea. I came home here to the studio and I already had the stadium in mind on my journey back. I wanted to make a Paris stadium.
“I quickly added shadows to make it more meaningful… I added buildings, changed the background, added the Tahiti wave and included Marseille,” he said.
The official poster of the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, while available for public purchase, comes in a special edition for Olympians. This edition features gold, silver, or bronze detailing, corresponding to the medal the athlete has won.
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