PARIS - The Paris leg of the new European athletics circuit "Fly Europe" may have attracted few fans on Wednesday but organisers believe it is set to take off.
France's Renaud Lavillenie competes in the Pole Vault contest of the "Fly Europe Paris" European Athletics Circuit event on September 21, 2016
Despite the presence of French pole vault star Renaud Lavillenie, the world-record holder, the Parc Andre-Citroen in the west of Paris was hardly buzzing with excitement.
"The aim is to see and sell athletics in a different way," said Marco Sicari, an Italian Athletics Federation official.
His is one of five countries -- alongside Britain, France, Germany and Spain -- involved in launching the Fly Europe circuit.
"In 2017 the idea is to organise the five stages during the second half of September, after the Diamond League," added Sicari.
Coming so close after the Olympics and being barred from some of Paris's more iconic venues due to security concerns may have affected the turnout, but those who ventured into the park -- intentionally or not -- were impressed.
"Seeing them so close, the beauty of their movements, it's almost like works of art," said Yannick Bruno, a jogger.
"You can imagine the effort it takes to get to that level."
Men's pole vault, men's sprint and women's long jump were on the card in Paris, although with some crucial differences.
The most notable is the sprint being judged on top speed and not the time it takes to cover a set distance.
Special speed guns linked to giant screens were used to give real-time results for fans to see who reached terminal velocity.
In pole vault, the bar isn't systematically raised as those still in the competition try to clear it, but competitors pick a height to attempt without their opponents' knowledge.
Lavillenie delighted the home fans by clearing 5.80m for the 115th time in his career.
It is such innovative and original regulations that provide part of the attraction for the series, which takes place on the streets as opposed to in a stadium.
The Fly Europe circuit in Germany took place in Berlin 10 days ago in the shadow of the Brandenburg Gate.
The concept for a series of street events has been going strong in the German capital since 2011 but is now being exported around western Europe.
All that was lacking from Paris was a stand-out performance, but other street events have been blessed with startling successes.
In Belgrade earlier this month, home favourite Ivana Spanovic beat her long-jump national record with a leap of 7.10m, a month after winning Olympic bronze.
That same day, September 11, Kenyan 800m world record holder David Rudisha set a new world best time over 500m of 57.69sec at the Great North CityGames in northern England in front of 20,000 people.
Usain Bolt has previously raced the Great North Run in Manchester while Wroclaw in Poland hosts a yearly hammer competition in which competitors fling the weight over the river Oder.