What is in the box that Olympic medallists get at Paris 2024?

Aside from the main prize - that coveted Olympic medal - athletes who make the podium in Paris are being presented with a gift that viewers have been finding harder to identify.

What’s in the box given to medal winners?

During medal ceremonies at the 33rd Summer Games, the top three finishers in each event are being handed a small, rectangular cardboard box. Measuring about 40cm in length, it contains the official poster for the 2024 Olympics.

Unveiled in March, the poster was designed by the French illustrator Ugo Gattoni, who has created one for the Olympics and another for the Paralympics, which are to be held in the French capital in late August and early September. The two posters join together to form “one big story”, the Paris Games’ organisers say.

Posters that “tell the story of Paris 2024″

The colourful, highly detailed posters depict the entire city of Paris as a stadium hosting the Games - illustrations that are “full of symbols” and contain “stories within stories”, says the 2024 Olympics’ director of design, Joachim Roncin. “I wanted to tell the story of Paris 2024,” Roncin told an interview with Olympics.com, “so that there would be an overview of the entire project, to take sport out of the sporting arenas.”

According to Gattoni, inspiration didn’t take long to come after he was confirmed as the posters’ illustrator in a meeting at Paris 2024 offices. “I immediately had an idea,” he told Olympics.com. “I came home here to the studio and I already had the stadium in mind on my journey back.”

Take a look at the Paris 2024 posters:

Where can I get the Olympics and Paralympics posters?

If you don’t happen to be a medal-winning athlete at the Paris Games, you can purchase the posters online at the official Olympics store. They cost $31 each.

What else do Paris 2024 medallists get?

After each medal ceremony, the top three in every Olympic event are presented with a fluffy toy in the form of the Paris 2024 mascot, Phryge. Depending on the colour of medal they won, the mascot has a gold, silver or bronze medal sewn into its belly. The word “bravo” is also embroidered into the Phryge.

In addition, athletes receive a certificate known as the ‘Olympic diploma’, which is also given to competitors who finish between fourth and eighth in each event.

Prize money is up for grabs, too. Notably, World Athletics revealed in April that it is to pay $50,000 to every champion in athletics events at the 2024 Olympics.

Meanwhile, national Olympic committees are also offering cash incentives: for example, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee is paying its team members $37,500 per gold medal, $22,500 for every silver and $15,000 for every bronze.