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The proposed Eiffel Tower expansion project that we reported on a while back has been exposed as a hoax. According to a tower spokesperson, the idea is “preposterous,” and the entire scheme is a hoax.
The news reports said that there were plans to add an extension to the globally recognized landmark to allow people who normally queue up for an hour for elevators to take them to the top floor, to make the journey up quicker. All this was supposedly in commemoration of the upcoming 125th anniversary of the icon, and Serero was reported to have submitted the prize winning entry for the design.
Now, the La Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel has declared the plan a semi-elaborate ruse. The tower spokesperson says although they do have big plans for the upcoming 120th anniversary bash, an extension is definitely not in the cards.
According to the architect, all it took was for it to post its designs for an Eiffel tower extension online for bloggers and newspapers — including the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph – to pick the news up and run with it. They never claimed that they won any contest, they say, and it was pure Internet gossip that blew out of proportion.
All we can say is it’s a good thing. That design made the tower look like a toadstool.