SOLD!: Iconic 2000 Olympic rings from Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney: The five massive rings from the Sydney Harbour Bridge which were the focal point of celebrations during the 2000 Olympics have been sold for 21,000 Australian dollars (Dh62,441 or $17,000).

The steel rings, measuring 70 by 40 metres (230 by 130 feet) when assembled and weighing 50,000 kilograms (110,000 pounds), had been in a storage shed south of Sydney. When businessman Bernard Maas recently bought the shed, he discovered the rings inside.

On the eBay auction site, the lot attracted 17 bids topped by a man in Sydney’s Pyrmont, an inner-city suburb near the harbor.

“He put a bid in and ended up winning ... he was having a bit of a chuckle and wasn’t too sure what he was going to do,” Maas said Thursday.

Maas said there was a crane above the shed where the rings were stored, so loading them into trucks would not be a problem.

“But the big job is transporting them really, because they’re such a massive structure,” he said.

Maas said he was surprised by the purchaser of the rings, which remained in good condition.