In a spectacular closing ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass received the official Olympic flag from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, marking the countdown to the LA28 Games. Adam Burke, President & CEO, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, was also in Paris to gain insights into the tourism impact and further understand the preparations ahead of 2028.
I love this for several reasons. I went to college at UCLA and worked as a journalist at City News Service for the past year or two of school. One of my first assignments was covering one of the earliest press conference held by the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 1984 Games. Somewhere in my basement I have a copy of the story I wrote.
Later, after moving to Toronto to marry a Canadian girl, I was working at the Toronto City Hall bureau for the Toronto Star and covered Toronto’s bid for the 1996 Summer Games. That didn’t work out, but I got involved in covering the Olympics and ended up covering Toronto’s bid for the 2008 Olympics (also a loss) and Vancouver’s bid for the 2010 Winter Games (finally, a win). I also was on hand and quarterbacked the Star’s Olympic coverage on the ground in Sydney in 2000, Salt Lake City 2002, Athens 2004, Turin 2006, Beijing 2008 and Vancouver in 2010. And I made many trips to Switzerland and other cities to cover International Olympic Committee meetings.
The Olympics can be maddening, especially when officials won’t fess up to doping problems. Also, the “bring the world together” stuff can get pretty corny. But then I watch the closing ceremonies and see young athletes beaming and dancing and hugging, and I watch the crowd reaction to the spectacle, and then I remember the wins and losses and triumphs and heartaches of the actual Games over the previous two weeks, and the joy it brought to people around the world, and I think, “Maybe there’s something special at work here after all.”
The world-famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles turned 100 years old in 2023. Photo Courtesy Los Angeles Tourism.
I love writing about travel, but I miss the adrenaline rush of the Olympics, and the people. It would be great if I could find my back to L.A. for the 2028 Games, but we’ll have to see about that.
I don’t know what you thought, but I loved the part of the closing ceremony on Sunday, with Tom Cruise sliding down into the Olympic stadium and then taking the Olympic flag on a trip to Los Angeles, followed by a parachute landing in California and the addition of the five Olympic rings (okay, three of them) to the famous Hollywood sign. L.A. doesn’t have the history or architecture of Paris, but it’s a fabulous city with great stories to tell of its own, and you can bet they’ll be employing more than a few well-known celebrities to boost the profile of the 2028 Games over the next four years.
“We’re honored to join Mayor Karen Bass to commemorate the historic handover of the Olympic flag from Paris to Los Angeles,” said Adam Burke, President & CEO, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. “We can’t wait to roll out the red carpet for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games where LA will become the third city in history – and first in the U.S. – to host the Games a record three times, joining Paris and London on the medal stand. The handover raises visibility for the City of Angels as one of the true sports capitals of the world. Félicitations to our friends in Paris for an incredible job!”
L.A. held the Summer Games in 1932 and then again in 1984, although those games were boycotted by the Soviet Union and some of its allies.
The Los Angeles Coliseum. BP Miller/Unsplash Photo
Los Angeles is celebrating an unparalleled decade of world-class sporting events and will welcome the FIFA World Cup, NBA All-Star Game, and U.S. Women’s Open Championship in 2026, and Super Bowl LXI in 2027, culminating with the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. LA offers something for every sports fan year-round with 11 professional sports teams – the most in the United States – and some of the world’s most iconic sports and entertainment venues. The LA28 venue plan will utilize these existing stadiums as part of their sustainability efforts.
Highlights will include SoFi Stadium hosting the largest swimming venue in Olympic history with 38,000 seats; the iconic and recently refurbished LA Memorial Coliseum becoming the only stadium in history to host Track and Field competitions in three Olympic Games; diving will return to the same pool that hosted the Aquatics events in the 1932 Olympic Games; Basketball will take over the new Intuit Dome arena in Inglewood opening this month; and events will be held in the San Fernando Valley for the first time with the BMX, Skateboarding and Archery competitions.
Sports tourism currently generates 10% of the world’s expenditure on tourism, with an estimated growth rate of 17.5%, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors in tourism, according to UN Tourism, so tourism bosses are optimistic for a boost in visitors coming to LA to experience sports in the coming years.
SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Rich Fury/Discover Los Angeles Photo
Los Angeles remains one of the world’s most diverse and inclusive destinations. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a returning friend, LA has seen countless exciting new offerings emerge in recent years. This includes the multi-billion-dollar modernization of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and spectacular new attractions like the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Destination Crenshaw, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™ at Universal Studios Hollywood, Intuit Dome, and Cosm Los Angeles.
To help visitors looking for sporting experiences, Los Angeles Tourism has created a series of sports itineraries, including ‘3 days of LA sports attractions’ and ‘3 days of LA dining for sports fans’. For more information on LA28, please visit la28.org.
Happy to say the 3 Days of LA sports attractions includes a visit to the UCLA Hall of Fame, where you’ll find great displays of athletes that include Jackie Robinson, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Troy Aikman and Bill Walton. Okay, there’s also a trip to the USC sports exhibit at the Coliseum. Which one is better? No contest 🙂
