Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass waves the Olympic flag as International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach applauds during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games at the Stade de France on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France.
Carl Lessing | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
After Paris successfully hosted the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, goals have been set high for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and key stakeholders in the event say the city is ready.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin at the CNBC x Boardroom Game Plan sports business event on Tuesday that what worries her is “what our city needs to do All preparations” for the 2028 Olympic Games. However, she said that just like Los Angeles last hosted the Olympics in 1984, she believes the city will not only improve by hosting the Games, but will benefit after the games are over.
This includes work on public transportation. Bass said she wanted “no car access to the venues” and spectators would travel to the Games by public transport – a commitment that would require investment in bus and metro infrastructure and working with other cities to borrow money for buses.
Bass said the city is also “doing everything we can to eliminate homelessness on the streets,” including building more than 18,000 new housing units for homeless people.
Bass said there will also be discussions with companies in Los Angeles about work arrangements to move employees to remote work during heavy traffic periods and find ways to move truck deliveries to overnight hours, as happened during the 1984 Olympics Same.
“I think we can organize the area in a way that reduces traffic and makes it manageable,” Bass said.
Los Angeles 2028 president Casey Wasserman, who was in attendance at the Paris Games, told Ross Sorkin the event was a “reminder of why people fall in love with the Olympics,” saying organizers Will hope to continue this event in Los Angeles.
While no new permanent venues will be built for the Los Angeles Games, a first in Olympic history, there is still some room for utilizing all of the city's landmarks in the same way that Paris showcased famous locations like the Eiffel Tower by hosting beach volleyball matches nearby. challenge. Wasserman said Los Angeles saw this during the Olympic Torch Handover Ceremony, when Tom Cruise was atop the Hollywood sign and the Olympic rings replaced the “OO” in the logo – something Wasserman noted. Done with CGI.
“It's obviously a longer, more complicated conversation,” Wasserman said of changing the Olympic Hollywood logo. “But I think if there was a way to do it, it would be a really good opportunity.”
Actress Jessica Alba, a Los Angeles 2028 board member, said the games would showcase different aspects of the city's culture, from Hollywood to fashion to food, as a “global showcase for what they've accomplished.” platform”.
“Los Angeles is a protagonist,” Alba said. “We want it to be a staple during the Olympics.”
Revealed: CNBC parent company NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. rights holder for all summer and winter Olympics through 2032.