“Natural physical activity in daily life” ‘Active design exercise’ transformed into a playground for citizens and athletes
When you get off at the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) station on the Paris subway and come up to the ground, everyone is busy taking out their cell phones. This is because you have to take a picture of the Paris City Hall. This building, rebuilt in 1871, was originally evaluated as the “most splendid city hall in the world.” In preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the walls and the square in front of the building have been covered with decorations related to the games, making the Paris City Hall even more splendid. A New Zealand tourist who visited here on the 21st (local time), five days before the opening of the Olympics, said, “It’s really beautiful. It makes me realize that I’m in Paris.”
The Paris City Hall is not just a place to take pretty pictures. On the morning of the 10th of next month, the square in front of the city hall will be transformed into the starting point for the Olympic men’s marathon race. On the same night, 20,024 general participants will run the Olympic course, divided into the full course (42.195 km) and 10 km categories. The next morning, the women’s athletes will compete in the Olympic marathon on the same course. This is the first time in the 128-year history of the Olympic Games that the marathon course has been opened to the public during the Games.
People watching the sunrise on Montmartre Hill, which offers a panoramic view of Paris. The 2024 Paris Olympic Organizing Committee filled the stairs leading to this hill, a representative tourist attraction in Paris, with Olympic commemorative paintings to commemorate the ‘D-100’ of the games.
This Olympics is sloganized as a ‘Games Wide Open’. There are no divisions or boundaries in a completely open space. In preparation for the Olympics, the city of Paris, together with the organizing committee, decorated various parts of the city as art spaces and playgrounds where tourists, citizens, and participating athletes can enjoy together. In April, a painting commemorating the Paris Olympics was unveiled on the steps in front of the Montmartre Cathedral, and the following month, a painting on the asphalt along the Seine River was unveiled. The opening ceremony of this Games will also be held on the Seine River, not at the Olympic Stadium.
The painting on the banks of the Seine depicts women running in sneakers. Its meaning is, “Let’s give sports back to the women of Paris.” After the painting was unveiled in May of this year, about 4,500 women in Paris participated in a running program run by the city. This work that encourages people to naturally participate in physical activity in their daily lives is called “Active Design.” The city of Paris plans to make Active Design a representative legacy of this Olympics.
According to this plan, street basketball courts in underprivileged areas have been transformed into graphic art canvases for artists. A representative example is the basketball court at Place Léon, known as the “Mona Lisa of the 18th Arrondissement.” The 18th Arrondissement, located in the north of Paris, is considered a high-crime area.
However, children were constantly drawn to the basketball court with French artist Elka’s “La Joconde (Mona Lisa)” painted on the floor. Children who came with soccer balls played by kicking the balls into the basketball hoop. Elka explains that he painted a woman’s face instead of a man’s to emphasize the message that “this basketball court is open to everyone.” The faces were carved into small pieces to reflect the diversity of this area where people from all over the world live together.
The Dupre Stadium in Pigalle, Paris’ representative entertainment district, was also considered an eyesore and was facing closure. However, it was transformed into the ‘world’s most gorgeous basketball court’ by designer Stephane Ashful, who designed the uniforms for the French Olympic team. It is not difficult for even first-time visitors to find this basketball court. The sound of basketballs bouncing can be heard from the entrance of 22nd Street, Dupre. This basketball court was built with a door in the vacant lot between two buildings. Anyone passing by can join in and play sports by simply opening the door. 파워볼사이트
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