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If you’ve been watching the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, you may have noticed a unique addition to the medal ceremonies. Along with their gold, silver, or bronze medals, athletes are receiving a long, slender box. The big question on everyone’s mind: What’s in the box?
Thankfully, we have the answer.
Inside the box is an official poster for the event, as confirmed by the official Olympics website. The poster, created by French artist Ugo Gattoni, showcases a fantastical version of Paris where sports are integrated into the city, drawing inspiration from the Art Deco movement and bridging the past with the present, including references to the 1900 and 1924 Games.
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“It’s a new, key moment in the Paris 2024 story. We’ve tried to be different and imagine posters that look like us, posters that go beyond a mere logo,” said Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet during the poster reveal in March.
Gattoni dedicated a total of 2,000 hours to creating the poster between September 2023 and January 2024.
Take a closer look at Gattoni’s masterpiece:
Apart from the poster, athletes also receive a plush version of the Olympics mascot, Phryge, adorned with a gold, silver, or bronze emblem. (Phryge’s name is derived from the Phrygian cap, a symbol of liberty from the French Revolution.)
For Team USA athletes, medaling comes with financial rewards: $37,500 for gold, $22,500 for silver, and $15,000 for bronze, according to USA Today.
