Notre Dame Will Reopen in 2024 Before the Summer Olympics in Paris

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France

Photo: Wirestock/DepositPhotos

On April 5, 2019, the world watched as the famous Notre Dame Cathedral burned in a devastating fire. Though two and a half years have passed since the incident, much of the time has been spent securing the cathedral from further damage. Plenty of work will be needed to restore this Parisian landmark to its former glory, but plans are currently underway to get the cathedral open in time for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

General Jean-Louis Georgelin—the president of Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris who was appointed to the restoration project by French president Emmanuel Macron—shared that the restoration had reached a new stage. “We’re officially saying that the cathedral is now saved, that it’s solid on its pillars, that its walls are solid,” explains Georgelin in an interview with BFMTV. This is a critical step necessary to meet President Macron’s 2024 deadline.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France

Photo: OKSANA_BAZAROVA/DepositPhotos

General Georgelin walks through the preliminary work needed to begin work including “the removal of the great organ, the cleaning test sites in two chapels, the installation wooden hangers under the flying buttresses or even the clearing and sorting of remains and the securing of the transept crossing.” These tasks were all necessary to work near the areas primarily damaged in the fire including the cathedral’s spire and intricate latticework roof.

“We are determined to win this battle of 2024, to reopen our cathedral in 2024,” Georgelin says. “It will be France’s honor to do so, and we will do so because we are all united on this goal.”

Though the French government has stated that the restoration will attempt to recreate the cathedral in its original image, there are many ambitious architects and designers who have submitted bold ideas for the reconstruction.

The Notre Dame Cathedral will be reopened by 2024, just in time for the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024.

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France

Photo: searagen/DepositPhotos

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France

Photo: OKSANA_BAZAROVA/DepositPhotos

h/t: [Hype Beast]

Related Articles:

Notre-Dame's Famed Organ Will Undergo a Four-Year Restoration

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Paris Gains Hope as Notre-Dame’s Iconic Rose Windows Are Reported Safe

Notre-Dame in Art: How the Medieval Cathedral Has Enchanted Artists for Centuries

Notre-Dame Updates: What We Know About the Cathedral Five Months After the Fire

Samantha Pires

Sam Pires is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She is also a freelance architectural designer. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from NJIT and is currently earning a Master in Architecture II from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Sam has design experience at multiple renowned architecture firms such as Gensler and Bjarke Ingels Group. She believes architecture should be more accessible to everyone and uses writing to tell unexpected stories about the built environment. You can connect with her online at @sampir.fi.
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