PARIS — At the Paris Olympics, the venues themselves are stars. Fencers will compete under the nave and glass roof of the Grand Palais. The brick-red clay of Roland Garros will host tennis players and boxers. Skateboarders will shred at Place de la Concorde. But no field, arena or stadium in Paris — or anywhere else, if you want the truth — shines brighter than Eiffel Tower Stadium.

At Champ de Mars, a public garden in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, Paris 2024 organizers dumped tons of French sand and constructed a 13,000-seat beach volleyball stadium. One night after the Eiffel Tower provided a denouement for the Opening Ceremonies, it stood watch over the opening round of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament and provided a setting unlike anything else in sports.

Olympic beach volleyball has taken the Games to exotic locations in its limited history, from the Horse Guards Parade in London to Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, the sport’s birthplace. But it has never luxuriated against a backdrop like the Iron Lady, and it is doubtful it ever will again. Good luck in 2028, Los Angeles: There isn’t enough CGI in Hollywood to match the setup here.

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In just one night, the stadium shattered the unofficial Olympic record for selfies taken.

Drizzle spoiled the unveiling Saturday afternoon, but at night, Eiffel Tower Stadium showed off. As fans filtered through a dense tangle of security, the sunset’s streaks of pink and orange illuminated the tower. The stadium lights went down, fans turned on their phone flashlights, and the tower’s bulbs sparkled as the announcer introduced teams from the United States (Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth) and Canada (Heather Bansley and Sophie Bukovec).

“That is what dreams are made of,” Nuss said. “Sitting there, seeing the Eiffel Tower twinkle, seeing all the flashlights around us going off, that will be printed in my brain forever.”

The Eiffel Tower glowed orange as players below dived on the sand and blocked spikes, a spotlight near the tower’s tip rotating in the night sky. Nuss and Kloth, who met playing together at LSU and train in New Orleans, controlled their match and won in straight sets, 21-17, 21-14.

Nuss admitted that during practice on the warmup courts outside the stadium, noticing the Eiffel Tower during points could be a distraction. U.S. Coach Drew Hamilton had attempted to calm his players as they prepared for their first Olympic match. “They’re going to hit the ball at you,” he recalled telling them. “Just hit it back.” He knew it would be a challenge.

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“I’m awestruck by it,” Hamilton said. “This is just unfathomable, and I know they feel the same way.”

Once on the sand, though, Nuss and Kloth found a way to make the setting a mental edge. When Canada went on a run or aced them, the Americans leaned into all that surrounded them.

“When we’re in tough situations, it does kind of put things in perspective,” Nuss said. “You’re like, ‘Hey, Taryn, look up.’ You stare there for a minute, and you see the Eiffel Tower, and you’re like, ‘Wow.’ It puts you back at peace.”

Near the top of the east side of the stadium, artist Peter Spens set up a canvas on an easel and went to work on an oil painting of the scene. Spens, a Londoner, also was commissioned for paintings of the beach volleyball arenas at the London and Rio Games.

“It’s definitely a challenge,” Spens said between brushstrokes. “But it’s great. It’s the iconic building of the Olympics. It’s wonderful.”

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Even the sand was spectacular. Organizers shipped in tons of sand from the Montgru-Saint-Hilaire quarry in Aisne, a department about 80 miles northeast of Paris. It turns out French sand is perfect for beach volleyball — the quarry also provided sand for Athens 2004, London 2012 and Rio 2016. The grains are mostly between 250 and 500 microns, which boosts the players’ stability. The sand isn’t too bright, which reduces glare. It also has a high silica content, which prevents the players’ feet from burning on a hot day.

“Whoever made that sand did a great job,” Kloth said.

“That is some deep, deep sand,” Nuss said. “It is definitely, I would say, pristine.”

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The stadium made even the losers feel grateful. Bansley had played in two prior Olympics, and while careful not to disparage Rio or Tokyo, it was clear she had found a new favorite Olympic experience.

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“We get to play in the best venue here,” Bansley said. “It doesn’t get better than that.”

At the end, as Nuss and Kloth prepared for match point, American fans chanted, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” After an extended rally, Nuss caught Canada too far back and tickled the last ball over the net. It nestled into the deep, pristine sand. Nuss and Kloth hugged, the Eiffel Tower hovering above them, in a scene that did not quite feel real.

“Oh, my gosh,” Kloth said. “It was so magical.”

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