Paris went for broke yesterday in the race to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
The Champs-Elysees was transformed into a sports arena lined with wrestling mats, a running track and a swimming pool.
Thirty-eight Olympic sports were on display in Paris, one day before the International Olympic Committee issues its key report evaluating the five candidate cities.
The contest for the 2012 Games enters a final stretch Monday, there will then be 30 days left until the IOC's decision about which city will be the host.
Paris is confident that it will win.
Madrid also held a party.
However, not everything went according to plan. A flag measuring 1 1/2 miles long and 21 feet wide, claimed to be the world's largest, ripped in two when 1,500 volunteers unfurled it along the boulevard.
Castellana Boulevard was closed to traffic as athletes demonstrated their sporting prowess among children, alongside musical performances, clown shows and other festival events to show the city's "Olympic Passion."
The city also staged a round of the Triathlon World Cup in the morning, and hosted an exhibition handball match in the afternoon to raise funds for victims of the Asian tsunami.
Three of Madrid's landmark buildings also have been illuminated with the colors of the five Olympic rings for the celebrations.
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