The countdown to Los Angeles 2028 has begun. The official flag of the Games, the one that Tom Cruise brandished in Paris on Sunday night, has officially arrived in the city that will host the competition in four years. It is the first time in four decades that the symbol has returned to California. A Delta plane landed on Monday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport with part of the United States Olympic team, which managed to beat the other great power, China, in the medal table. Also on board the aircraft was Mayor Karen Bass, the first black woman to receive the flag of the rings.
“It’s already underway. I hope the enthusiasm continues and all we have to do is be ready for 2028,” Bass said minutes after landing. These will be the city’s third Games, equalling Paris and London. The first was in 1932, when a thriving city made its solo bid and was left with a lacklustre competition marked by the Great Depression. In 1984, the Olympic celebration returned to the city after Tehran withdrew its bid.
The delegation of athletes touched down at LAX, an airport that reflects the new face that the city wants to show. The site has been under construction for more than two years to bring the subway to the seven terminals. Construction has suffered several delays and has spent more than 90 million dollars on an already expensive budget of nearly 1 billion dollars. The route, which will serve some 34,000 passengers a day, is expected to be inaugurated before the end of the year.
In addition to the airport metro stop, the city also plans to open an underground line that will connect the city centre with the Olympic Village, the UCLA university, located in the northwest. Local authorities have been planning the 2028 Games since at least 2017, when Los Angeles lost out to the Parisians. The time has been used to finance public works projects with several hundred million dollars.
Mayor Bass said Saturday that she envisions the 2028 Games being “car-free.” What greater commitment can LA28 organizers make than to ending the most common image of the city? The mayor, along with Casey Wasserman, the president of the local organizing committee, are already working on a plan to prevent the event from collapsing due to traffic jams. They will also host the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Super Bowl as pilot projects.
City officials are looking to create thousands of jobs by expanding the city’s public transportation network. Bass also said the city will ask other major U.S. cities to lend it 3,000 buses for the 17 days of the Games. The Democratic mayor also wants to get help from small businesses, whom she hopes will be able to convince to allow their employees to work from home for the two weeks.
“One of the things I was most excited about in Paris was how they made the Games an activity for everyone, whether you participated or not. We hope that excitement continues in Los Angeles,” said Bass, who received the baton Sunday from Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. She was joined by Mayor Rex Richardson of Long Beach, the city where the concert by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Billie Eilish was previously recorded and which was mistaken in the broadcast for Venice Beach.
Although the Games are still a long way off, the effort to educate about the public transportation system has already begun. The city’s subway system, which serves some 10 million people, has begun a campaign to combat the idea that the city is not ready for the international event. A video shows that eight stadiums and venues hosting around 20 competitions are easily accessible thanks to a stop on the system. This includes the newest addition to the city’s sporting offering, the Intuit Dome, which the NBA Clippers will open later this year, ending decades in the shadow of the Lakers.
Former swimmer Janet Evans, a four-time gold medalist who is part of the organizing committee, has said that authorities do not have plans to build new venues by 2028. In addition to the Clippers stadium, the city also has SoFi, which opened during the pandemic and is home to two NFL teams. It will be used for the opening ceremony alongside the Memorial Coliseum, which achieved world fame in 1932 and 52 years later. After this starring role, it will be converted into what is intended to be the largest pool in the history of the Games. It will be a perfect setting for the United States to aim to surpass the eight gold medals won in Paris in swimming.
