PARIS—Paris is In the 19th century, when Napoleon III ordered the French capital dug up and redesigned, it was laid out along long, wide, eye-catching boulevards that gave on to eye-catching monuments. The Champs-Élysées, connecting the Arc de Triomphe at one end to Place de la Concorde on the other, is but the most famous example. Some describe the city itself as a sort of life-sized museum with the world’s best-known exhibits.
The Louvre, home to Mona Lisa. The Impressionists, whose work lives on inside the Musée d’Orsay. People the world over come to see the Paris Opera, the Panthéon and Gustave Eiffel’s glittering tower.
But if there is one thing that will from those that have come before it, it is the transformation of some of the city’s most iconic sites into playgrounds where for global gold. “Each time that I go on a site, it strikes me that I have the Eiffel Tower in front of me,” said Canadian Brigitte Légaré, who is organizing the Olympic sports events in central Paris. The Place de la Concorde, with the obelisk of Luxor in the background.
BMX freestyle is one of the sports taking place here. She was speaking in an interview from the Champs-de-Mars, where judo and wrestling will be held. “The Alexander III Bridge is the most beautiful bridge in Paris.
In the Grand Palais, if you haven’t been there yet, it’s just magnificent. We have brought the Games a little closer to the average person by deciding to use the most spectacular monume.