The countdown began. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are already a matter of the past that spreads its nostalgic wings. Almost the same ones that are in full flight to Paris 2024, the next Olympic event that will be held from July 26 to August 11 of that year.
And Paris, precisely, will once again host a Game after 100 years. In truth, it will be the third time that the best of the best in world sport (with the exception of football, it is true) will meet in the City of Light. The previous ones were in 1900 and 1924.
For this reason, the capital of France is already in the preparation period and the mint has put to work on it. The Monnaie de Paris, the entity in charge of manufacturing the French national currency, together with the organization of the Games launched the official coins of Paris 2024. In short, it is the first official product for the Olympic event. And, logically, it will not be the only one. The collection represents the Olympic spirit, athletes and sports. Historical icons, venues and disciplines will be displayed on the medallions, on the standard coins, on the 2-euro commemorative coins and on a collection of gold and silver euros.
The shape of the gold and silver is hexagonal, represented by the “figure” of the country. The reverse of the coins shows a Marianne running and, in the background, they have the Eiffel Tower or the Olympic Stadium. Also, there is one that represents the post pass between Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. There are around 120,000 copies in official stores. More is expected, given the demand that official sources await.
It is not the first time that this type of commemoration has been made in the run-up to the Olympic Games. In itself, it is already a tradition that comes from ancient times. Already, in 525 BC, in the Greek polis of Elis, a special coin was minted to honor the victory of a local athlete at Olympia. This tradition continued until the demise of the Ancient Games in AD 393, when they were forbidden by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, the great.
But in Helsinki 1952, the Games in the Emil Zatopek, The Human Locomotive, won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters and the marathon (a unique case until today), the tradition was resumed, with a coin with a value of 500 “markkaa” or Finnish marks (official currency of Finland until 2002). In 1964, the venues of the Summer and Winter Olympics, Tokyo and Innsbruck (Austria), were also part of this “gold rush” and made their official coins.
Paris 2024 is already underway. The remaining days seem like many (more than 1000). But there are not so many. After just over a year of postponement due to the Covid-19 pandemic, athletes have 365 days less to qualify to be in what will surely be the post-pandemic Games that changed the modern world. (Bolavip)