The Olympic torch may just have been passed from Beijing to Paris, but Los Angeles already has its sights set on 2028: Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday signed a new executive directive designed to create a "Games Cabinet," as part of preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics that will be hosted in the city.
The goal of the specialized cabinet, created by Executive Directive 28, will help city departments, local businesses and stakeholders communicate and cooperate during preparations.
The announcement came Monday morning, in front of a view of the LA skyline and the lit Olympic flame at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
"Here at the Coliseum, this was a structure built with the ambition of getting the Olympics, for the first time in Los Angeles," Garcetti said. "In 1923, this place started to not just mark history, but consistently make history. And in terms of Olympic history, it was in 1932, for the 10th Olympiad, when we renamed 10th Street "Olympic Boulevard," and we brought people from around the world, to experience the Games in one of the toughest times in our global history."
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Garcetti also recalled his own experience watching the closing ceremony for the 1982 Olympic Games, which were also hosted in Los Angeles at the Coliseum.
"I remember the feeling of being a 13-year-old, that excitement of the world being here in my backyard," Garcetti said. "I can't wait to feel that excitement again in 2028, when this stadium becomes the first stadium to host not just two, which is already the record here, but three Olympic games."
The plans for the 2028 Olympic games include support for local youth sports leagues and programs like Play LA, Garcetti said, generating positive effects for SoCal children.
"That's what this executive directive that I'm signing today is all about," Garcetti said, saying his goal and the goal of the Cabinet will be "...to create an Olympic legacy... that begins right now, and endures long after the torch has been passed."
Other Los Angeles officials emphasized these goals.
"Hosting the Games in 2028 is going to be a monumental opportunity, that's not only going to strengthen our city and power our communities, but give Angelenos a voice," said Curren Price, LA City Council member for District 9.
"With the action that the Mayor is taking today, the directive opens up an opporutnity for our city to actively engage our community, in planning how large events such as the Olympics, can be more equitable to all the residents," Price said, by hiring local residents, supporting small businesses and taking other measures that promote local economic growth.
Executive director of the LA Civil Rights department Capri Maddox also spoke about the positive effects of the Games for the city, and the desire officials have to hear from those who will be most affected by the Games.
"Today we are announcing what the Olympic Games will do for Los Angeles," Maddox said. "This is not just for 2028, it's going to start ahead of 2028, and it will be with us for years to come, because history is watching us in many ways."
Also present was LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman. Kathy Carter, former soccer player appointed as CEO of the Organizing Committee for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games will report to Wasserman, as she leads the planning and execution of the 2028 Games.
"We are Games ready," Wasserman said. "LA is ready to host the Games, which means we can spend our time living up to the promise of what an Olympic and Paralympic Games ought to do, and the impact they ought to have, on a city like Los Angeles."
