LA28 comes into focus during Global Sports Week

The eyes of the international sports community fell on Los Angeles six years ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics as big names from the city’s sports community gathered at the headquarters of the LA84 Foundation for a special event organized as part of Global Sports Week.

LA28 CEO Kathy Carter told those in attendance, “we don’t want to wait until 2029 to see the fruits of the labor for the 2028 [Summer Olympic] Games.”

Her comments came during a gathering of the international sports community that aimed to set the agenda for the business of international sports over the next few years.

The event also served as a chance to strengthen connections between the two host cities of the next Olympic and Paralympic Games, with both cities hosting events during the week-long gathering.

Carter spoke with local community officials about the impact the LA28 Summer Olympics could have on their communities, before addressing the latest preparations for the LA28 Summer Olympics with Around the Rings.

She teased further developments on the logo of LA28 Summer Olympic Games, telling Around the Rings, “we’re not done.”

“It’s like LA. There is no one definition of LA, so the idea is that it will continue to evolve as we go on our journey.”

It’s a journey that began well over a year ago when local organizers launched their brand for the LA28 Summer Olympics. Included in the launch was the reveal of LA28′s revolutionary, ever-changing logo.

Carter told Around the Rings, “there will be a lot more engagement. Whether that be with partners, community members, or the city itself.” She added, “we’re working hard at that, so watch this space, it will continue to change.”

Another area that’s experienced radical change leading up to the LA28 Summer Olympics is the Olympic sports program.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the initial sports program for 2028 Summer Olympics earlier this year, revealing it had left boxing, weightlifting, and modern pentathlon off the program over ongoing issues within those sports.

With the battle to gain a spot on the Olympic sports program becoming ever more intense, Carter laid out the viewpoint of local organizers as they continue to design the final sports program for the Games.

She explained, “we’ve undertaken a really thorough exercise, both around new sports, but also even with the existing sports and disciplines, to really understand what the scale, the opportunity, and the impact on LA and on our country could be.”

“We were really keen to say…how do you make it objective, as opposed to making it a lobbying effort to get a sport in.”

In terms of what that process looked like, Carter stated, “we’re looking [at] how or what we could do to be relevant to Angelenos, and certainly to the broader United States, to continue to make our [Olympic] Games the most accessible, interesting, and exciting Games of all time.”

She continued, “we have an opportunity, but we don’t actually have an obligation to put new sports in. So, we’re still determining whether that’s going to be something that we’re going to do.”

While the final sports program for the 2028 Summer Olympics is still taking shape, local organizers are more certain about their strategy for dealing with environmental concerns that may arise during preparations for the Games.

“We’re really serious when we say ‘we want to leave it better than we found it,’” said Carter. “The first step in our journey was about radical reuse.”

“We talked about having an impact on the environment. We said ‘we won’t build anything.’”

“Because we’re a no-build Games, that certainly changes the dynamics from a climate perspective, and so that’s the start of our journey, [but] it’s certainly not the end.”

In terms of how LA28′s “no-build” policy could impact the selection of venues and sports for the Games, Carter added, “we’re continuing to work with the international federations to optimize what we have available in Los Angeles and make it so we can have the least impact.”

The 2028 Summer Olympic Games are still more than six years away. However, the brief moment in the spotlight during Global Sports Week has given local organizers much to consider as they continue preparatory work on the Games.

While LA28′s moment in the sun may have been brief, local organizers will be hoping to make much more of a splash come 2028.