VIDEO: Paris 2024 Olympic medals made with metal chunks from Eiffel Tower

In a few short months, the next Olympic Games will begin and the athletes now know the reward they will receive if they make it onto the podium. On Thursday 8 February, the Olympic and Paralympic medals were unveiled. And, whether they are gold, silver or bronze, they will all contain a very special piece of metal that was once part of the Eiffel Tower.

A hexagonal, polished piece of iron taken from the iconic landmark is being embedded in each gold, silver and bronze medal that will be hung around athletes' necks at the July 26-August 11 Paris Games and Paralympics that follow.

The decision came from a desire to make these objects unique and singular, as Tony Estanguet, President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, explains.

They were cut from girders and other bits that were swapped out of the Eiffel Tower during renovations and stored for safekeeping, according to Joachim Roncin, head of design at the Paris Games organizing committee.

"The concept came after a few discussions. We realized that there's one symbol known across the world, which is the Eiffel Tower," Roncin said.

"We said to ourselves, Hey, what if we approached the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. to see if it's possible to get a bit of the Eiffel Tower to integrate into the medal?'" The company agreed, and "the dream became reality," he said.

"It's really a bit of metal from the Eiffel Tower." They were stripped of paint, polished and varnished for their second life.

They are stamped with "Paris 2024" and the Games logo — which looks like a flame or the face of a woman with a chic bob haircut. The five Olympic rings are also stamped on the iron of the Olympic medals. The Paralympic logo of three swooshes, known as the Agitos, is stamped on the medals for the August 28-September 8 Paralympics.