The Summer Olympic Games are officially in the hands of Los Angeles.
On Monday, a consortium of politicians and athletes assembled on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport to welcome the Olympic Flag to California following the conclusion of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
The dignitaries in attendance included California Governor Gavin Newsom, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, participants of the Olympic and Paralympic Committees and more than three dozen Olympic athletes who returned from Paris over the last few days.
Bass escorted the Olympic Flag back from Paris aboard a chartered Delta Air Lines flight — indicating the film toward the end of the Closing Ceremony where actor Tom Cruise flew the Olympic Flag to Los Angeles was, fittingly, an imaginative work of Hollywood.
The greater Los Angeles area will play host to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, marking the first time the competition has been held in the United States since the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Los Angeles hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984; Placer County, in the northern part of the state, was the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, the only time an Olympic competition was held outside of Los Angeles.
When the 2028 Summer Games conclude in Los Angeles, the city will be tied with Paris and London for the most times hosting an Olympics competition — and California is going all-out to ensure it is a memorable one.
“These Games are an opportunity to show the best of our state, and our nation. We look forward to highlighting not only the majesty of California, but also our strength, integrity, sportsmanship, and perseverance,” Newsom said in a statement this week.
More than 120 athletes from California participated in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris — a higher number than any other state. Of those, 22 returned to the California with a medal, including seven gold medalists. The 2024 Summer Paralympic Games are scheduled to take place in Paris later this month.
Before the Summer Games kicked off in Paris, California lawmakers were positioning the state as a strong supporter of the international athletic competition. Two years ago, Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian — who represented parts of the Los Angeles area — authored Assembly Bill 2747, which provided in-state tuition eligibility for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes who chose to train in the Golden State. The measure passed with broad partisan support, and Newsom promptly signed it into law. The benefits started in January 2023.
The 2028 Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to begin in Los Angeles on July 14, 2028, with the closing ceremony scheduled for July 30, 2028. Comcast’s NBC Universal holds the domestic telecast rights to the games.
