PARIS– Lena Von Schōnlaub used the Eiffel Tower Stadium as the backdrop for her personal photo shoot.
Von Schōnlaub moved his head from side to side, smiling big as he held the phone in front of his face and clicked repeatedly. Paris’ iconic Eiffel Tower loomed just behind her, overlooking the spot where beach volleyball was being played. Paris 2024 Olympics.
It has been one of the most popular attractions of the Olympics, attracting hundreds of people looking for the best photo to post on their social media pages. The perfect setting for the digital age.
“I think it’s the most beautiful location you can have,” said Von Schōnlaub, who traveled from Munich, Germany, to Paris.
The sand and lively music from the DJ always give beach volleyball the feeling of a party. The sport has been played in several iconic locations, including Copacabana Beach at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where beach volleyball is very popular.
But for many athletes and visitors, the Eiffel Tower Stadium is an incomparable setting.
The 13,000-seat stadium was built specifically for the Olympics on the Champ de Mars, a garden where Parisians and tourists normally sit on the grass for picnics or fireworks displays on July 14. The site attracts hundreds of people every day, but since the start of the Olympics, people have been buying tickets to beach volleyball matches only to squeeze through the crowd in search of perfect selfies and videos with the tower and sand in the background. .
“We don’t really follow beach volleyball, but we wanted to see the place with the Eiffel Tower,” said Solene Naeye, a local Parisian who came to the place to take photos. She observed the environment and noticed the beauty of the moment. “It’s a way for us French people to rediscover our city, which is really good.”
Matt Knigge, an alternate for the United States men’s indoor volleyball team, arrived at the stadium on his night off from Sunday practice. Knigge, from California, has traveled all over the place playing volleyball, but said he has never seen such an “iconic” location.
“It’s hard to find anything more beautiful than what we have now,” he said, pointing to the tower. “The sun is setting in the background. I think if you were writing a fairy tale about beach volleyball at the Olympics, this would be it.”
He took photos of himself with his digital camera and then asked a stadium attendant to take a photo of him, hoping for the best possible angle. Then he grabbed a few more on his phone.
“In the age of social media and social media-based people marketing, this is it,” Knigge said as he pointed around. They achieved this.”
TikTok said the Eiffel Tower location tag on its app had more than 80,000 posts on Sunday, with the beach volleyball hashtag around 88,900.
Sports athletes from all Games have already attended. French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited the stadium on Wednesday, posted a selfie video from the top row of the stands facing the Eiffel Tower.
American college gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne was there on Saturday night taking some photos for all of her social media. She shared a video with her 8 million followers on TikTok, as well as photos on her Instagram Stories. Her TikTok post, during which she was standing right in front of the Eiffel Tower, had 1.6 million views and more than 173,000 likes just 23 hours later.
Around 10pm on Sunday, the stadium lights dimmed. The tower lit up. Orange stripes painted the blue sky. Suddenly, the tower began to glow and everyone “ooh’d” and “ah’d” in harmony. Everyone raised their phones, the same image displayed thousands of times throughout the venue.
“I’ll definitely make an Instagram post,” said Kaden Augustine of St. Louis, Missouri, standing next to his brother, Kanen, in a matching onesie displaying the U.S. flag. ”
___
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
