According to Politico, when Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass discussed hosting the Summer Olympics with the mayor of Paris, she received a “sobering reality check” about how little time there really is to prepare.
“It's definitely put a fire under our feet,” Bass told reporters after meeting with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and other French officials overseeing the 2024 Summer Olympics last week. He said he saw first-hand what it takes to prepare a city for the world's biggest sporting event. Events as “eye-opening”.
Los Angeles was named to host the 2028 Summer Olympics by the International Olympic Committee nearly seven years ago as a way to solve the problem of having two strong candidates for 2024. These two awards were the model for the IOC's decision to elevate them late last year. The French Alps for 2030 and Salt Lake City for 2034 have been chosen as the preferred locations for Winter Olympics candidates.
Paris and Los Angeles both face challenges such as homelessness, but after visiting a shelter in Paris, Bass said the French capital's “numbers are nowhere near ours” and that Paris is far behind the Seine. He noted that the focus is on relocating homeless people from along the river. Politico reported that no other Olympic venue would work in Los Angeles.
“The biggest difference is they have a stronger social safety net, so we have more resources to provide to people,” the Los Angeles mayor said, adding, “For us, it's just moving people around. That's not the solution,” he added. we know that very well. We need to continue to house people. ”
Bass said Los Angeles “fortunately” has a homeless population of about 30,000, as reported by Politico, compared to just over 3,500 in Paris, and it took four years to figure out how to deal with it. He said there is. Organize the games taking into account the number of people gathering on our streets. ”
While the mayor of Paris is using the 2024 Summer Games to promote efforts to restrict car traffic, such as replacing travel lanes and parking spaces with bike lanes, Mayor Bass recently announced plans for infrastructure improvements in the Los Angeles area. announced that $900 million in federal funding has been secured. Railway expansion is also planned for the 2028 Olympics.
Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian, who accompanied the mayor on his Paris trip along with other officials, said there were no details on what that meant for the car-centric city, but the convention site had plenty of parking. said that it would disappear. Politico said it “remains hazy.”
“To make that happen, we would probably have to source buses from all over the country and rent buses and drivers,” Krekorian said. “We want the federal government to pay for this.”
The cost of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles is currently $6.8 billion. Organizers will use private funding, similar to the $2.45 billion Utah bidders are proposing to host the 2034 Winter Olympics, primarily through sponsorships, broadcast rights and ticket sales. I'm going to cover the costs.
With four years left until the United States hosts the first Olympic Games since the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Los Angeles Organizing Committee Chairman Casey Wasserman recently said LA28 already has more contract revenue than Paris. He said there is. total.
