Is the Eiffel Tower the most famous structure in the world?

PARIS — When French organizers began conceptualizing the 2024 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, one of their goals was to show the world — via an anticipated global television audience of over one billion — the sights and landmarks of this city.

That meant staging a 3.5 mile, 85-boat flotilla of athletes down the Seine River that would conclude, of course, at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

The 1,083-foot structure was originally designed to be a temporary centerpiece of the 1889 World’s Fair only to become the iconic symbol of this iconic city.

Which begs a simple, if perhaps unanswerable, question: Is the Eiffel Tower the most famous manmade structure on earth?

In other words, if every human was shown a picture of the most well-known buildings or statues, would more people immediately recognize the Eiffel Tower than other contenders such as, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, the Colosseum in Rome, Big Ben in London, the Statue of Liberty in New York, Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and so on?

There is no actual polling on such a question, but we turn to the late French philosopher Roland Barthes who posits that the Eiffel Tower in its simple elegance is not merely a symbol of Paris, but of possibilities.

It’s stood for 137 years now, admired over the years by young and old, inspiring generations to plan, one day, to come and see it in person as an attainable, if not mandatory, part of a human life well-lived.

“It belongs to the universal language of travel,” Barthes wrote.

The Eiffel Tower was originally met with great criticism, dubbed “useless” and “monstrous.” It was a symbol of French power a century after the Revolution, built so high simply because it could be built so high.

It was the tallest building in the world when constructed and, even more than today, jutted oddly into the Parisian skyline. It was permitted to stand for just 20 years and then taken down. Instead it became beloved.

“What is truly marvelous is how a metal communications tower, made of prefabricated industrial parts, assembled at breakneck speed, and meant to be temporary, has transcended to the status of a cultural icon and symbolic landmark,” said Patricio del Real, an architectural historian at Harvard University.

There is, indeed, nothing special about it, which somehow made it special and copied around the world.

“It is built mathematics, pure structure,” said Dietrich Neumann, professor for the History of Modern Architecture at the University of Southern California. “A building reduced to its absolute essence, to the minimum necessary to get people up to a height of 1,000 feet.

“Many people were uncomfortable with its nakedness,” Neumann continued. “In the following years there were many, often quite entertaining, proposals to cover it up, to add some ornament, even turn it into a gigantic, landscaped mountain with a waterfall.”

Its image is now everywhere, from books to posters, on T-shirts and coffee mugs, in advertisements and movies.

“How many comic book villains have stolen the Eiffel Tower?” del Real asked.

But is it the most famous structure?

“Well, it’s probably most recognized amongst people from or living in the European-American world,” said Daniel Abramson, professor of Architectural History at Boston University. “But since the majority of the world’s population is from outside this geography and culture, then it’s hard to say.

“Is it possible that two billion Muslims would nearly all recognize another religious structure, thus surpassing the number of people recognizing the Eiffel Tower?” Abramson asked.

Perhaps. By sheer numbers, something in Asia is likely recognized by more people.

As such, the question remains a question — even after the Eiffel Tower gets some global publicity Friday night.