Paris 2024: discover the giant tapestry of the Olympic Games, coming soon to the Hôtel de la Marine

For the past three years, a veritable work of art has been weaving its way behind the scenes. For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a giant tapestry has come into being, a joint project between the Paris 2024 organizing committee and the French Ministry of Culture, to be presented in 2021. All the while, talented craftsmen from the national manufactures of Gobelins and Beauvais have been busy bringing to life the project designed by Franco-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi, inspired by the poster for the last games in the capital.

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A gigantic tapestry measuring 9 meters by 3.3 meters, this three-part work was unveiled in its entirety at the Manufacture des Gobelins on March 12, 2024, a few months ahead of the competition. It will then be on view to the general public, free of charge, on June 21, at theHôtel de la Marine, close to the Concorde Olympic site, as well as throughout the duration of the competition!

In all, the triptych features 21 colors, including those of the Olympic rings, and 60 kilos of wool, dyed in France but sourced from New Zealand, used by several French craftswomen. Marjane Satrapi insisted on their major role in the realization of this project, adding that she saw"as much of me as I see of them" in the tapestry.

The triptych recalls the values of the first Olympiads, rehabilitated by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, and highlights the innovations that will be introduced for this new edition. On the left is a javelin thrower, a symbol of the first traditional Games, notably those of 1924; in the center, a symbol of equality and parity between men and women, accompanied by the Olympic flame.

On the right, the new sports invited in 2024, breaking and skateboarding, all under the Eiffel Tower, symbol of the capital. In the background, silhouettes of other monuments such as the Sacré-Coeur basilica and the Arc de Triomphe, with a representation of the globe below.