Just hours before the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, a shirtless man scaled the iconic Eiffel Tower, causing quite a stir.
In an audacious move, the climber ascended the 330-meter tall landmark, navigating over the Olympic Rings temporarily set up on the structure. As he made his way up, French police had to evacuate the area for safety reasons. Tourists were ushered away, and the entry beneath the tower was closed.
In a tweet, Kevin Winston remarked, ‘He took ‘climb the Eiffel Tower’ too literally!’ The incident, captured on video, shows the man nearing the tower’s first viewing deck, gaining significant height.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. The stunt took place just three hours before the start of the closing ceremony. This forced local authorities to act swiftly. Some visitors were stuck on the second floor for around 30 minutes before being escorted away by police around 3 PM.
The Eiffel Tower has been a focal point during the Paris Summer Games, serving as a backdrop for beach volleyball and other events. Additionally, it featured prominently in the opening ceremony, where Celine Dion made a grand return from one of the tower’s viewing areas.
Ahead of Sunday’s events, France’s Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, assured the public that 3,000 police officers would be stationed at the Stade de France, with an additional 20,000 police deployed throughout Paris. This comes in light of heightened security following a thwarted terror plot during Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour in Austria. Safety remains a top priority.
Despite the unexpected climb, the Olympics closing ceremony proceeded as planned with heightened security ensuring the safety of all attendees.
