Angling for the 2024 Olympics and 2025 World Expo, Paris announced plans to modernize its iconic landmark Paris? most iconic structure, the Eiffel Tower, is gearing up for yet another renovation, mayor Anne Hidalgo announced this week. The comprehensive 15-year overhaul will cost a projected ?300 million (roughly $321 million) and could be a boon for the city?s bids for both the 2024 Olympic Games and 2025 World Expo.
The city already spends ?13.7 million ($14.6 million) each year on maintaining the tower, but the 45 percent increase in funds would go towards updating the elevators, thousands of twinkling lights, and visitor facilities?including better crowd flow and shelter from the wind and rain. Stronger security and structural reinforcements will also be installed to help protect the tower from potential terrorist attacks. The tower will be fully repainted, as it is every seven years. The plans come just two years after the tower?s most recent renovation, which cost $38.4 million and included those terrifying glass floors, electricity-producing wind turbines, and updates to the restaurant and gift shop.
Originally constructed as a temporary building for the 1889 Paris World?s Fair, the Gustave Eiffel-designed tower was initially supposed to be pulled down after a decade. But city officials decided to use it as a radiotelegraph station instead. Over the decades, it has become a globally recognized symbol of Paris, attracting nearly 7 million visitors a year.
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