Mayor Bertrand Delanoe's urban Paris beach is copied the world over

They laughed back in 2002 when Bertrand Delanoe announced his scheme for an urban riviera in the City of Light. The first socialist, and openly homosexual, Mayor of Paris was said to be trying one of his camp stunts with his vision for a “beach” on the Seine.

The mockery soon stopped. Paris Plage was an instant hit, drawing residents and tourists to the retro delights of the sand, potted palms, parasols and deckchairs that replaced the bankside motorway for a month.

Seven years on, the scheme is an annual fixture. It was quickly imitated by dozens of cities worldwide. Brussels, Berlin, Budapest, Zurich, Rome and towns in America and Japan have followed suit, although Melbourne recently rejected a scheme to create a beach on the Yarra.

The sand barges and palm-carrying trucks will be hard at work this weekend preparing the 2009 edition of an event that will attract some four million visitors by the time it closes on August 20.

City taxpayers fork out about a million pounds while sponsors pick up the rest of the cost of a fiesta that runs along the Right Bank from the Louvre to the Port de la Gare at the foot of the National Library.

There is a swimming pool, and a new water-sports centre has been added at the Bassin de la Villette on the canal system in northern Paris. Visitors will be able to enjoy dancing, sports, gym classes, massage and tai chi, as well as stretch their minds with literary groups and concerts.

But the idea of Paris Plage is somewhat more attractive than the reality. Finding a deckchair or hammock often means dodging crowds and queueing, and there is the usual amount of big city thieving. The tone remains urban grit rather than coastal charm.