Olympic Mayors Pledge Concord

(ATR) Mayor Eric Garcetti tells ATR that LA and Paris are committed to help each other with the Olympics.

Garcetti spoke to Around the Rings from Paris minutes after signing a cooperation agreement with his counterpart, Anne Hidalgo, that covers the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.In September the IOC ratified Paris as the host of the 2024 Summer Games and Los Angeles as the 2028 host city. The twin awarding of the Games was the first for the IOC since 1921.

The two mayors appeared on the sidelines of a meeting of the C40 environmental group involving major cities around the world. Garcetti is a vice chair of the group. IOC President Thomas Bach appeared at the morning session, speaking with Hidalgo, but departed prior to Garcetti’s arrival.

"I wanted to come to Paris to solidify what she and I had talked about long before we were awarded the Olympics, which is how we could create a true collaboration between two cities simultaneously preparing for the Olympics," Garcetti said.

"We’ve both signed a lot of symbolic accords in our lifetimes, it happens a lot as mayors. This one is for real," said Garcetti.

The agreement covers four areas: sustainability, inclusion, innovation and technology.

"Imagine as we go down this path we find better ways to build a temporary venue for beach volleyball. We couldtake seats from Paris and use them in Santa Monica," Garcetti cited as an example of how the agreement might work.

"They might want to tap our California expertise in technology to get tickets to venues with open seats to people on that day or to athletes who want tickets," he says.

Hidalgo and Garcetti will co-chair the effort which the Los Angeles mayor says is already resulting in the sharing of best practices between the two cities.

"For inclusion, we’re actually looking at ways to come up with the best ways to local businesses, especially those owned by women, minorities, small businesses. What can we do to help refugees, migrants, the homeless? How do we present greater opportunities for youth sport?" Garcetti asks.

Garcetti says he brought some "California cool" to Paris. At the press conference he presented Mayor Hidalgo with a skateboard designed by a Los Angeles artist.

The Paris mayor reciprocated with French chocolates and pictures of the Champs Elysee.

Reported by Ed Hula.