Iconic venues will be Paris’ Olympic legacy — and one Los Angeles will find difficult to surpass in 2028

PARIS — As Paris prepares to say au revoir to the 2024 Summer Games, it leaves a legacy of some of the most iconic venues in modern Olympic history.

From fencing in the Grand Palais to cycling along the Champs-Elysees, it incorporated the city’s grandeur as well as any host city ever has and created a standard that the 2028 Games in Los Angeles will find difficult to surpass.

As expected, the crown jewel — both among the city’s landmarks and the venues — has been the Eiffel Tower, which provided dramatic backdrops for beach volleyball, race walking, road races and the marathon. With the Olympic rings mounted between its first and second floors, it has become the enduring symbol of the Paris Games.

“Oh my gosh, it was so magical, especially when all the lights went down … it was unbelievable,” American beach volleyball player Taryn Kloth said. “This is our first (Olympic Games) but I would have to say that it is the best ever venue.”

For 16 days the athletes would speak of these Games with similar wonder, with one race walker describing “goosebumps” when she hurried past the Eiffel Tower and a cyclist declaring the final sprint through the heart of Paris as “epic.”

At the Grand Palais, the fencers competed under the glass barrel-vaulted roof as natural light filled the historic exhibition hall. Olympian Filip Dolegiewicz, a Park Ridge native who competed in the team saber event, found himself awed by the setting.

“I’ve been here as a tourist,” said Dolegiewicz. “But I’ve never competed in any place so beautiful.”

Even the Seine — which initially caused concern for triathletes and marathon swimmers because of its E. coli levels — added to the splendor. It hosted five events, including three triathlon races and two marathon swims, with more than passing grades from the athletes.

“It’s an iconic venue,” U.S. triathlete Morgan Pearson said after winning the silver medal in the mixed triathlon relay. “That’s going to be the most memorable thing for me.”

Paris launched a $1.5 billion initiative to fix the city’s antiquated sewer system and make the river swimmable for these Games. The results were somewhat mixed as all the various events took place, but several practice sessions were canceled and the men’s triathlon was delayed a day after the E. coli levels in Seine made the water unsafe.

Four athletes — out of the more than 100 who swam in the water — reportedly became sick after competing, but it’s unclear if those illnesses were connected to the Seine. A Belgian triathlete who withdrew from the mixed relay said medical tests show she contracted a virus unrelated to E. coli exposure.

Those who competed said they didn’t worry about the water.

“We were all really confident jumping in there,” said Australian triathlete Matthew Hauser, who finished seventh in the men’s event. “I didn’t have to swallow too much water out there today as I was leading most of it.”

The Seine, however, may best be remembered for its role in a rule-breaking opening ceremony. For the first time in Olympic history, the athletes sailed down the river so the entire city could celebrate their arrival.

With the athletes still raving about the procession two weeks later, Paris may forever change how the Games begin.

“Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony was like something I’ve never experienced before,” American triple jumper Tori Franklin wrote on Instagram following the ceremony. “From the mix of cultures to the abundance of talented, friendly human beings, to the crowds that cheered in the rain, and the amazing views as we glided down the Seine. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m so grateful to be living this life.”

This is the standard Los Angeles will inherit for the 2028 Games. A younger, sprawling city, LA is expected to make history by becoming the first Olympics to use existing structures for all its venues.

The plans include swimming at SoFi Stadium and the Crypto.com Arena hosting gymnastics, though the buildings will go by generic names during the Summer Games per the International Olympic Committee’s ban on sponsorships. Organizers have suggested they will not try to imitate the splendor of Paris, but instead embrace Los Angeles’ flashier modern vibe.

“We are trying to be exactly who we are because what will make the Games successful in Los Angeles is the Games being the best for our city,” Casey Wasserman, chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games said as the Paris Olympics began. “And we’ve been consistent about that since the beginning.”

LA organizers, however, will pay homage to the city’s long history as a host city. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — where sprinter Eddie Tolan won two gold medals in 1932 and Carl Lewis won four in 1984 — will once again hold an Olympic track competition. The aquatic facility built for the 1932 Games will be used for diving.

“The culture of our bid and the culture of our organizing committee is authentically LA and California, which is about creativity,” Wasserman said. “We’re professional but casual, and we have a spectacular Olympic history that we also intend to live up to.”