Man Arrested After Attempting to Free Solo Eiffel Tower Before Olympics Closing Ceremony

On Sunday, just hours before the Olympics closing ceremony, a man was spotted climbing the Eiffel Tower, resulting in his arrest.

Olympic Rings on the Eiffel Tower / Unsplash

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are coming to an end, but for one individual, the climbing events haven't concluded quite yet.

On Sunday afternoon, a man was seen climbing the north face of the Eiffel Tower. The climber, who was shirtless and appeared to be wearing a chalk bag, was climbing just above the blue Olympic ring when he was noticed. The place at which he started climbing is unknown at this time.

When police became aware of the situation, they immediately jumped into action and evacuated the visitors at approximately 3 p.m. The police met the climber halfway up the tower where he was then placed under arrest.

An anonymous officer in Paris told The Associated Press, "An individual started climbing the Eiffel Tower at 2:45 p.m., police intervened and the person was detained." With the officers being on high alert due to the Olympics, the situation was under control rather quickly.

When the climber was being escorted away from the viewing platform, he can be heard telling spectators, "Bloody warm, innit?" in a video that was posted on social media. In this video, the climber is seen smiling and is seemingly cheerful.

With the Eiffel Tower standing at 1,083 feet tall, this event could have been catastrophic as the climber was not attached to any ropes. One slip would have drastically changed the outcome.

This is not the first time someone has attempted to climb this historic structure. One of the most well-known attempts was in 2015 when James Kingston, a British climber, successfully climbed the Eiffel Tower. Kingston was also taken into custody. This is an undertaking that is not encouraged or legal.

After the situation occurred, the Olympics closing ceremony, which took place at the Stade de France, was able to begin and successfully marked the end of the 2024 Summer Olympics.