Materials from Christo's packed Arc de Triomphe will be recycled for the 2024 Olympics

The materials that were used in 2021 to create Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s latest work, The Arc de Triomphe Packaged, unveiled on September 18, 2021 in Paris and lasting sixteen days, will be recycled ahead of the 2024 Olympics. This was announced yesterday by the city administration of the French capital: the reuse and recycling project will be carried out in partnership with the organization Parley for the Oceans, a global environmental network in which creators, thinkers, and leaders come together to raise awareness about the beauty and fragility of our oceans, while collaborating on projects to end their destruction and taking action to protect the, the Earth’s largest and most vital ecosystem, through an approach based on creativity, collaboration and eco-innovation.

“Christo and Jeanne-Claude have always been committed to reusing, recycling and upcycling all materials used in their projects,” said Vladimir Yavachev, Christo’s grandson and project director for the Arc de Triomphe. "Now we will give a second life to thepacked Arc de Triomphe with the help of our partners. And what could be more logical than recycling this work of art for future use in Paris, a city that has had such an influence on Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s life and work? It is an honor to have worked closely with the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and her teams throughout the life cycle of this project, even now with the goal of concrete uses planned for future public events."

"Two years after the installation of the ephemeral artwork The Arc de Triomphe packed,“ comments Mayor Hidalgo, ”I am very happy that our collaboration with the Christo Foundation and Jeanne-Claude continues by offering a second life to the materials used for this extraordinary project. Thanks to the NGO Parley for the Ocean, which I would like to thank very warmly, the fabric and ropes will be recycled into umbrellas, tents or marquees for our next big events in Paris, especially the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This is a great example of the art world’s ability to adapt to climate issues."

As with Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s previous projects, all of the materials used to create The Arc de Triomphe Packaged are reused, recycled and upcycled. The wood and steel used for the project’s substructures have already been reused by Les Charpentiers de Paris, ArcelorMittal and Derichebourg Environnement, respectively. The 25,000 square meters of blue-silver polypropylene fabric and 3,000 meters of red polypropylene rope have been transformed by Parley for the Oceans; the design and production phase of the new materials now begins.

"When I visited Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s packed Arc de Triomphe two years ago in Paris, I saw a banner of rebellion there," said Cyrill Gutsch, founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans. “An encouragement for seemingly impossible ideas to become reality, if we pursue them without wavering, without giving up, remaining positive and optimistic. The ropes and fabric of the artwork speak to the true superpower we possess as human beings: imagination. We will create tent structures designed to protect human life from dangerous heat waves , as well as to recharge our hearts and minds for the epic challenge ahead. I am confident that together we can create a new economy in which harmful, toxic and exploitative business practices remain a relic of the past.”

Image: Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The packed Arc de Triomphe (1961-2021). Photo: Wolfgang Volz

Materials from Christo's packed Arc de Triomphe will be recycled for the 2024 Olympics

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