The Mayor will travel with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden as part of the U.S. Presidential Delegation to Paris for the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, receive the Olympic Flag during the Closing Ceremony of the XXXIII Olympiad, and prepare for the Paralympic Games to be hosted in Los Angeles for the first time.
LOS ANGELES –In order to continue aggressively preparing Los Angeles to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028, Mayor Karen Bass and leaders from across the Los Angeles region and the nation will be attending the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, France over the coming weeks. Ensuring Angelenos benefit from the preparation and hosting of this major event, both now and for decades, is a top priority for the Mayor. This week, Mayor Bass will join the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, as part of her official delegation to Paris for the Opening Ceremony of the XXXIII Olympiad. The subsequent delegations will include federal, state and local elected leaders, as well as leaders from the civic and private sectors, with the goal of making business and diplomatic connections ahead of the Games. Mayor Bass will return to Los Angeles after each trip.
“We must continue our urgent work ensuring that Angelenos benefit from the preparation for the Games, as well as in the decades following,” said Mayor Bass. “Together, we will showcase Los Angeles – not just the popular tourist destinations, but each of our beautiful neighborhoods and communities. Together, we will leverage the Games to help local small businesses, create local jobs and create lasting environmental and transportation improvements throughout Los Angeles.”
JULY 25-27: Joining First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for the Presidential Delegation to Paris for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games to lock arms with federal and local partners in preparation for 2028.
Mayor Bass will travel with First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden as part of the Presidential Delegation to the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, as she continues to lock arms with all levels of government to host a successful Games in 2028. U.S. Senator Chris Coons, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, and Chairperson of LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games Casey Wasserman will be among the members of the Presidential Delegation. During the trip, Mayor Bass will join Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo at the Opening Ceremony and later meet with stakeholders to help assist small businesses, create local jobs and create lasting environmental and transportation improvements around the 2028 Games. She will also visit the Team USA High Performance Training Center, meet with athletes and their families representing Team USA Athletes and visit competition sites to observe venue operations.
AUGUST 7-12: Receiving the Olympic Flag During the Closing Ceremony
As the Mayor of Los Angeles, Host City for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mayor Bass has an official role alongside Paris Mayor Hidalgo in the Closing Ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where she will receive the official Olympic flag to bring home to Los Angeles. Mayor Bass will also meet with the Mayors of Saint-Ouen and Saint-Denis, venue host cities to the north of Paris and home to major venues including the Olympic Stadium. These meetings follow her visit in March, when she met with both Mayors and toured the Athletes’ Village to explore innovative housing solutions.
SEPTEMBER 6-8: Preparing for Los Angeles’ First-Ever Paralympic Games
On August 22, 2028, Los Angeles will host its first-ever Paralympic Games. Mayor Bass will again participate in the Closing Ceremony and receive the Paralympic flag, meet with Team USA Paralympians, and lead a delegation comprising members of the Los Angeles City Council, Metro leadership and other civic and local leaders from across L.A.
BACKGROUND
Ensuring Los Angeles is prepared to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in a way that benefits Angelenos in preparation and for decades following is a top priority for Mayor Bass.
In March of this year, Mayor Bass led a delegation of members of the City Council and other civic leaders to Paris, France to generate business development and learn from innovative housing, green transportation and infrastructure projects to prepare Los Angeles ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and to create lasting impacts in L.A. for generations to come. The delegation met with French officials, dignitaries and business leaders to see how Paris was preparing for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The delegation included Council President Paul Krekorian, Councilmember Traci Park, Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins, LA84 Foundation President and CEO Renata Simril, and Priscilla Cheng, Senior Vice President for Government Relations at LA28. All three Councilmembers sit on the Ad Hoc Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Councilmembers Park and Yaroslavsky serve as Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively and President Krekorian was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee when the host city contract was signed. Since the delegation trip in March, Mayor Bass has continued to prepare Los Angeles with a focus on economic investment and business procurement, building a greener Los Angeles by improving upon green transportation and infrastructure, and confronting the homelessness crisis with the urgency it requires.
Economic Investment and Business Procurement: Los Angeles is engaging with local small businesses to optimize the procurement opportunities anticipated to flow through the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Mayor’s Office is hosting roundtables with chambers of commerce from throughout the City, business associations, and faith-based business organizations, to receive their input on how best to engage their members and other stakeholders with procurement and contract opportunities ahead of the 2028 Games. The Mayor’s Office and city departments are also working closely with LA28’s Community Business Working Group, which will develop the plan and specific goals for small and local businesses as a key part of their procurement strategy.
A Greener Los Angeles with Green Infrastructure and Transportation: Los Angeles’ commitment to host more sustainable Games dates back to the bid, with a pledge to radical reuse by leveraging the city’s wealth of existing world-class venues. The 2028 Summer Games will become the first-ever Games to build no new permanent venues, and instead will rely exclusively on existing and temporary venues. Additionally, Los Angeles is focused on lowering the overall footprint of the Games by promoting the use of circular construction principles for temporary venue sites and significantly reducing waste at the games. Los Angeles aims to host a transit-first Games and will also promote the use of zero-emission vehicles. Ahead of welcoming the world to Los Angeles in 2028, the city will also enhance water conservation by promoting water efficient fixtures, plant water saving landscapes and enhance existing open and green spaces. The Mayor’s Office is working closely with LA28 in order to ensure alignment and accelerate the City’s sustainability goals.
Strengthening Transportation and Infrastructure: The Los Angeles region secured recently secured nearly $80 million to electrify Metro buses to reduce air pollution This followed $900 million in federal funding awarded to strengthen critical infrastructure, expand the Metro Rail system and reconnect communities ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games through a spending package signed into law by President Biden and new grant funding from the Biden-Harris Administration. LA Metro will receive $709.9 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Fiscal Year 2024 transportation spending law, which will go toward sections two and three of the D Line (Purple) Subway Extension Project, among other projects. The Los Angeles region will also receive $160 million in new federal grant funding for street and transit infrastructure, traffic safety and to improve connections between neighborhoods. This includes $139 million that will directly improve transportation mobility access during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and create lasting enhancements for communities. More here.
