Paris 2024 Games logo designs draw mixed reaction from public

The innovative design for the official logos for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have drawn a mixed reaction from social media users after it was unveiled this week.

Having used a multi-colored version of the Eiffel Tower as the badge for the city’s successful campaign to host the Games, which was confirmed in September 2017, Paris Games organizers have instead opted for design that incorporates gold symbolizing victory, the Olympic flame and Marianne, the embodiment of French revolutionary spirit.

“I believe that this innovative design will be quickly recognized around the world and be a wonderful calling card for the Olympic Games Paris 2024,” said Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, chair of the International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission.

“The combination of the gold medal, the Olympic flame and Marianne brings together the values, history and French touch that will make these Olympic Games truly special.”

But public reaction has been sharply divided, with some critics saying it would be more suitable as a logo for a hair salon, or even that it resembles the logo of popular dating app Tinder.

“Is this a new range of shampoo?” said a French Twitter user, with another saying “A new hair salon will open in Paris in 2024.”

The 2024 Games will be the third time Paris has hosted the summer Olympic Games, with its previous stagings having been in 1900 and 1924. The French capital will join London, currently the only city to have hosted the Games three times, after having been edged out by the British capital in the race to stage the 2012 Olympics.

There are two nods to Paris’s Olympic history in the logo design-the inclusion of Marianne is a reference to the 1900 Paris Games being the first to include female participants, and the art deco font of the writing beneath the logo is a homage to the popular art style of the 1920s, when Paris staged the event for the second time.

The London Games logo drew a similarly mixed reaction when it was unveiled in 2007. The design used during the successful bid incorporated the shape of the River Thames and the Olympic ring colors, but this was then dropped in favor of a graffiti-style representation of the 2012 date.

Tokyo will host the next summer Olympic Games in 2020, followed by the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, and then the 2024 Paris Olympics, which will run from July 27 to August 12.

With Los Angeles having been Paris’s only rival to host the 2024 Games, the announcement of both the 2024 and 2028 Games was made at the same time, with Paris getting the nod to host first.

In 2028 Los Angeles will become the third city to host its third summer Olympics, having previously staged them in 1932 and 1984.

By JULIAN SHEA in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2019-10-24 10:11