Mayor Bass is traveling 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 as she continues crucial preparations for the 2028 Games
PARIS, FRANCE – In order to continue preparing for 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 are in France attending the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony. Ensuring Angelenos benefit from the preparation and hosting of this major event, both now and for decades, is a top priority for the Mayor with a focus on helping local small businesses, creating local jobs and creating lasting environmental and transportation improvements throughout Los Angeles. Photos and video available here.
“Today has been a historic day for the entire Paris region, and it has been an honor to witness it and learn from the incredible ceremonies,” said Mayor Bass. “From our partners in the communities outside of Paris, like Mayor Hanotin, to Mayor Hidalgo in Paris, we have seen how the incredible ceremonies of today have brought the athletes, Parisians, visitors and our world together. We look forward to leveraging this experience when we return home, connecting our local small businesses, creating local jobs, and making lasting environmental and transportation improvements throughout the Los Angeles region.”
On Friday, Mayor Bass joined Mayor Mathieu Hanotin of Saint-Denis on one of the final legs of the Olympic Torch Relay before the official Opening Ceremony in Paris. Mayor Bass and Mayor Hanotin also visited the 12th century Basilica of Saint-Denis, a national historic monument and site for cultural programming and tourism during the Games. Mayor Bass met with Mayor Hanotin and his team during her visit in March, joined by members of the Los Angeles City Council and other civic leaders. On that visit, Mayor Hanotin led the delegation on a tour of the Olympic and Paralympic Athletes Village for the 2024 Games, a redevelopment project that will deliver several thousand units of affordable housing upon completion of the Games, demonstrating lasting positive social and economic impact.
As Mayor of the next host city for the 2028 Games, Mayor Bass also met with Deputy Mayor Krista Adams of Brisbane, Australia, to discuss expanding collaboration as Host Cities ahead of the 2028 and 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
And on Friday evening, Mayor Bass and Casey Wasserman, Chair of LA28 joined Mayor Anne Hidalgo and other Paris region leaders at the historic Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games – viewing the final product of the years of preparations put into the Opening Ceremony and Games as a whole.
One of the primary objectives of this trip is to lock arms with partners across all levels of government to host a successful Games in 2028. In addition to Dr. Biden and Ambassador Campbell Bauer, the White House Delegation includes U.S. Senator Chris Coons, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, Chairperson of the Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles Casey Wasserman, and Olympians Brian Boitano and Dawn Staley. Read more about the members of the Presidential Delegation here. The Mayor will depart Paris on Sunday.
BACKGROUND
Ensuring Los Angeles is prepared to host a 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games that benefits Angelenos now and for decades to come 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 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.