GREEKS TO PAINT
THE EIFFEL TOWER

A Greek technical company has won the bid to paint the Eiffel Tower in Paris to mark the landmark's 120th anniversary, which is being celebrated throughout this year. This will be the 19th repainting of the Eiffel Tower, which is painted over in a different colour every seven years. This year's colour will be bronze. Eleftherios Mamatzis, founder and president of Thessaloniki-based STELMA S.A., the company hired to do the job, said the prestigious project is "a life's dream." An estimated 60 tons of paint will be required to cover the Tower's 250,000 square metre surface, as well as 50 kilometres of security cords for the workers' safety, two acres of protective netting, 5,000 sanding discs, 1,500 paint brushes, an equal number of sets of work clothes and 1,000 pairs of leather gloves. All the work will be carried out by hand using only paint brushes. It will be painted going from top to bottom, with 16 painters starting off at the initial stage, while another 10 painters will join them at the base. The cost of the project is estimated at 4.5 million euros.

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