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At the purple Olympics, athletes move it while Paris mauves it

Why are these Summer Games so purple? Learn about the art, science and history of how organizers choose their official colours

Published August 8, 2024

Olympic host cities choose palettes with care, to give spectators – and especially cameras – a show that is easy to follow and interesting to look at. Venues in Paris favour cool tones: Purple, blue and green, with pastels at the gymnastics arena. The hues took two years to get right, Camille Yvinec, director of brand identity, told Reuters. ‘We wanted to have a colour palette that was, above all, sophisticated.’ Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters; Alex Broadway and Dan Mullan/Getty Images

The Stade de France in Saint-Denis, shot here using a tilt-shift lens, uses two purples – light for lanes, dark for service areas – with grey at the turns to match the cinder track from 1924, the last time Paris played host to the Summer Olympics. Cinder, a grey or reddish mix of finely crushed rock, was the go-to material for tracks before the plastic and rubber revolution of the 1960s. Alina Smutko/Reuters

Outdoor tracks usually come in brick-red hues, because synthetic surfaces are built to last in all weather, and UV-resistant reds fade more slowly. Montreal built a track like that for 1976’s Games: It was the work of the Italian firm Mondo, which has handled every Olympic track since, including the Parisian purple one. The Canadian Press

Olympics running’s last big break from red was Rio de Janeiro’s azure track, which better fit 2016’s palette of blues, forest greens and yellows. Those are the colours of the Brazilian flag, but also three of the five Olympic rings, hence why they come up often in branding at the Games. The Associated Press

In sports photography, light red tracks make a good backdrop to the Canadian flag, as Andre De Grasse showed in Tokyo. Victors will never be that matchy-matchy at the Stade de France: No national flag on Earth has purple as a base colour, and only four have even small amounts of it. One is Dominica, whose track star Thea Lafond won gold in triple jump, the Caribbean country’s first medal ever. Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail; Dylan Martinez/Reuters

In sports photography, light red tracks make a good backdrop to the Canadian flag, as Andre De Grasse showed in Tokyo. Victors will never be that matchy-matchy at the Stade de France: No national flag on Earth has purple as a base colour, and only four have even small amounts of it. One is Dominica, whose track star Thea Lafond won gold in triple jump, the Caribbean country’s first medal ever. Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail; Dylan Martinez/Reuters

Yvinec says the purple also evokes the lavender fields of the south of France, where some of the Olympic soccer stadiums are. This field in Valensole, Provence, is about an hour’s drive from Marseille, whose marina plays host to the sailing events. Manon Cruz/Reuters

Floral lore was a big reason why purple was so abundant in Tokyo. The purple of wisterias, or fuji, is among the classical kimono colours that organizers drew from. But so is kurenai, red, which they used for the running track. Fans in 2021 were more likely to see purple at equestrian or climbing events. BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty Images

London tried to stand out in 2012 with brash purple, hot pink, aqua blue and orange. In a redesign before the Paris Games, marketing firm Thisaway added purple and pink to some Team GB swag, but got backlash in conservative media for perceived disrespect to the Union Jack’s blue, red and white. Kevin Van Paassen/The Globe and Mail

Athletic-wear companies knew about the purple track long in advance, and planned accordingly. That’s why you see so many athletes in orange or yellow shoes: Colour contrast ensures the footwear is visible on camera even when the feet are a blur of motion. Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Over all, athletes have been positive about the purple scenery and its break from Olympic tradition. American hurdler Shamier Little even found a barber to dye her hair purple: ‘I just asked him to bring together my vision and he did perfectly,’ she told Reuters. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

As for the vision of the organizers, the goal from the start has been to make competitors look their best, Alain Blondel, sports manager for athletics and a former decathlon champion, told Olympics.com. ‘What's really important is that the colours and the athletes stand out.’ ANTONIN THUILLIER/AFP via Getty Images

With a report from Reuters

The Paris dispatch: More Olympics coverage

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