2024 Paris Olympics: Know why running track has been painted purple

The French capital is getting ready for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with workers putting on final touches on stadiums and organisers busy making everything perfect. Paris will openthe door to thousands of athletes and their millions of fans with opening ceremonies, set for July 26.

The ceremonies at the 2024 Games will be extra special as they were held virtually in Tokyo in the summer of 2021 and in Beijing in the winter of 2022.

Not just the ceremonies, the organisers have promised to offer dozens of memorable events, with a few things already grabbing eyeballs, including a purple running track.

Some are wondering why the running track at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has been painted purple, said to be a bold move. Can you guess?

Earlier this year in April, Alain Blondel, who is the sports manager in charge of athletics for Paris 2024, said as quoted by olympics.com, "The big part of the job was to come up with a track that was different from what we had seen, to maintain the creative approach that the Organising Committee has had since it was set up, to go a little bit outside the box."

He then explained, "The look of the Games includes three colours for all the competition venues: blue, green and purple. We decided on this purple track with different tones: lighter for the track, darker for the service areas, and grey for the turns at the end of the bend, reminding of the ash-coloured tracks that were there 100 years ago for the Olympic Games Paris 1924."

Blondel said that the grey seats for spectators contrast sharply with the colour of the existing lanes. The track draws attention even from the exterior of the stadium. He added that a test revealed that it is good "for the eye and for the picture" from a footbridge overlooking the Stade Annexe, which is a training facility.

"We had to work hard on the colours, so that they came out in the best possible tones to highlight the athletes. It's a track, it has to be pretty, but above all it's a stage on which the athletes are going to perform. What's really important is that the colours and the athletes stand out," said Blondel, who is also a former European decathlon champion.

(With inputs from agencies)