The Mayor of Paris has announced that Christo and Jeanne Claude’s Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped installation is to be recycled for use in the city’s upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games. As reported by ARTnews, the effort will be led by the environmental organization Parley for the Oceans.

Under the plans, 269,000 square feet of blue polypropylene fabric and 9,800 feet of red polypropylene rope will be recycled. The recycling of the fabric and rope is in addition to the reuse of the wood and steel substructures which have already been reused by carpentry and steel producers.

“The fabric and ropes will be recycled into shade structures, tents or barnums for our next major events in Paris, in particular the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Paris Mayor Anne Hildago said in a statement reported by ARTnews. “This is a very fine example of the art world’s ability to adapt to climate challenges.”

The installation was on view through September and October 2021, the culmination of a 60-year vision by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which began in 1961 when Christo imagined wrapping the Arc de Triomphe in fabric. 

In 1962 and 1963, Christo created a photomontage of the idea; a collage which he repeated again in 1988. In 2017, he began actively developing the idea, leading to the piece’s public opening on September 18, 2021. “It will be like a living object which will move in the wind and reflect the light,” said Christo, who passed away in 2020. “With its moving folds, the monument’s surface will become sensual. People will want to touch the Arc de Triomphe.”

Over 1,000 people were employed to carry out the project, which ultimately cost 14 million Euros ($16 million USD). The project was entirely funded through the sale of original artworks by Christo, including models, collages, and lithographs. As we previously reported, a 95-member team of technicians worked on-site to unfurl the fabric across the monument.