PARIS (AP) — Iconic or historic venues are at the heart of the Paris Olympics — organizers want the event to be about the spectacle as well as the sports.

Athletics stars will speed along an eye-catching new purple track at the Stade de France national stadium. Tennis players will vie for medals on the trademark clay courts of Roland Garros, home to the French Open.

Horse riders will race through the once-royal gardens of Versailles. Breakdancers, BMX riders and skaters will compete beneath an ancient Egyptian obelisk at the square where France’s last king and queen were beheaded.

The 135-year-old Eiffel Tower forms the backdrop for beach volleyball, wrestling and judo. Triathletes are scheduled to swim in the Seine River, past Paris landmarks.

And surfers will ride the world’s most legendary wave s, across the planet in Tahiti, in French Polynesia.