With less than 3.5 years until the opening ceremonies, the termed-out council president emeritus is taking on a new megaevent department, a new role, and a whole lot of city baggage
The 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games begin today in Paris with the opening ceremonies staged along a heavily militarized (and possibly poop-free) Seine. Before you know it, LA’s opening ceremonies will be here — but they’re not going to be where most Angelenos will expect them to be.
You’d be forgiven if you thought LA's opening ceremonies would be at the Coliseum. That’s where the opening ceremonies in both 1932 and 1984 were held. It’s also where most LA28-related announcements happen, like last week’s visit from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Even the LA28 venue page for the Coliseum notes that it is "the first venue in history to host the Track and Field competitions and the Opening Ceremony in three Olympic Games."
But the 2028 opening ceremonies are set to be held at SoFi Stadium, a detail which seems to have eluded many elected officials until recently. And with all the hand-wringing about LA losing events to other cities, it’s providing yet another opportunity for everyone to gripe about how LA28 should really be using a beloved city venue that’s always been associated with the games. I mean, it's got the rings right there on it!
The way the opening and closing ceremonies were originally described to me — years ago — was more of a simulcast situation, with crowds at both SoFi and the Coliseum. The plan, shown in this slightly creepy 2017 visualization, describes an "unprecedented citywide celebration" that "unites two iconic LA venues" with Coliseum spectators tuned into what's happening at SoFi using a "virtual-reality experience," just to remind you how old this idea is. But now it sounds like the Coliseum is playing a much smaller supporting role. On LAist’s AirTalk earlier this month, LA28 organizing chair Casey Wasserman said the "opening will progress through the city, the torch will go through the Coliseum, and the parade of nations will be in SoFi, and then we will reverse that with the closing ceremonies at the Coliseum." And when you ask the mayor of Inglewood, the opening ceremonies are all SoFi, according to the Daily News:
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. reflected on the change from holding the opening ceremonies at the Los Angeles Coliseum to holding the ceremonies at SoFi, including the entrance of the torch relay and the lighting of the perpetual flame: "That will be an iconic, historical event and Inglewood will be enshrined in the legacy of the Olympic games."
I thought for sure that the perpetual flame atop the Coliseum's peristyle would remain the terminus for the torch relay, as it was on July 28, 1984, creating a lovely bit of visual continuity. But instead it sounds like the torch will be relayed from the Coliseum to a new SoFi cauldron, seven miles away, during the show. Oddly, the SoFi venue page doesn't say anything about the opening ceremonies, and the June venue release hedges: "LA28’s plans for Opening and Closing Ceremonies are unchanged, with parts hosted at both" the Coliseum and SoFi. So perhaps like other proposed venue changes, these decisions are also pending approval. For Coliseum-heads, maybe there's a glimmer of hope. 🔥
Hello there! As attention begins to pivot from Paris to LA, I'm trying something new here at Torched. In addition to my reported pieces, I'm putting together a separate news roundup — and you're reading the first one right now! Basically this will gather all the random links and observations I stack at the bottom of stories and put them in one place. (This one's on the long side because it's the first one.)
If you haven't subscribed to Torched — what, you haven't? — do that right now and you'll get the next one delivered directly to your inbox
It's infrastructure week
I took the E-Line to see first-hand how Los Angeles is working to make Metro more accessible ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games.
We're helping fund upgrades to benefit disadvantaged areas, adding bus priority lanes and Metro Bike Share for affordable, reliable, and safe transport. pic.twitter.com/XYkfR6rG3W
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) July 19, 2024
Secretary Pete rode the E line, signed a giant $77-million check to electrify buses, and, most importantly, said we're getting more Metro Bikes! And the same day he appeared in Long Beach, Exposition Park and East LA, Rachel Uranga dropped a bombshell of a story at the LA Times that Representative Maxine Waters had recently sent Buttigieg a letter asking him to block the Olympics-related project he'd awarded the most money to so far: the 1.6-mile people mover to SoFi Stadium which has received over $1 billion in federal funds. Interestingly, the Inglewood people mover was not mentioned in Pete's remarks.
The LAX people mover will open in 2026. (Yes, 2026.)After delay after delay, and an additional $550 million in costs, the opening for the LAX people mover is confirmed for January 2026. Also confirmed: the LAX Metro station that will eventually connect the people mover to the K/C lines will open in November 2024. Does this mean the shuttle to the C line Aviation/LAX station relocates there for a year? Funnily enough, when I flew out of LAX earlier this month my shuttle was playing a video promoting the people mover that was inexplicably plastered with old LA28 graphics. The video also noted that "construction begins in 2018, with completion in 2023."
Good morning from the Silver Line 👋. On my way to our @metrolosangeles Board meeting.
As the new chair of Metro I want to know what riders are experiencing and how we can improve the system. Riders have been more than happy to share thoughts—and photos—of their experiences. pic.twitter.com/6IiELHKpu4
We now have a Metro-riding Metro board chair. Remember when I said that Metro board members making decisions for the Olympics should actually be riding transit? Newly minted Metro board chair Janice Hahn spent an entire day last week riding transit and documenting the entire thing: leg 1, leg 2, leg 3 including Secretary Pete. And yesterday she did it again. What's very important to note here is that Hahn wasn't just riding for photo ops, she's taking transit to perform official duties, hitting multiple destinations in one day. If she can do it, any Metro board member can! Replies to her tweets last week demanded Hahn "try it without a security detail" but I confirmed that aside from the Secretary Pete ride-along, Hahn was only accompanied by her communications deputy, Esteban García, who she introduces in the thread. She even reported Flamin' Hot Cheetos spills!
The Sixth Street Bridge's "ribbon of light" went dark due to copper wire theft — less than six months after the bridge had served as a backdrop for the announcement of an LAPD copper wire theft task force. (Just spitballing here, maybe instead of giving money to LAPD we should give money to the underfunded street lighting department?) Reminder that our beleaguered bridge was designed to be the centerpiece of LA's Olympic legacy. "This will be, in many ways, what everybody sees in 2028 when they come to the Olympics," former LA mayor Eric Garcetti said in 2022. "I am sure it will be part of the torch relay when the Olympics come." Maybe they can light it with torches?
"We’re going to make damn sure these games benefit our communities." Campaign Hometeam is a brand-new coalition launching today focused on holding the Olympics accountable: "City leaders and the LA28 organizing committee made big promises about the benefit to the city and its communities in exchange for hosting a global party. Campaign Hometeam is a new coalition of organizations working to ensure these promises are kept." Speakers at today's rally at Jesse Brewer Park in Expo Park at 12 p.m. will include Jovan Houston, LAX employee and SEIU-United Service Workers member, who I spoke with about the Olympic wage in May.
ANGELENOS IN PARIS
🥖 Mayor Karen Bass flew to Paris on Air Force 2 with First Lady Jill Biden, leading the official delegation and hanging with many LA electeds. Joe Biden is not going, and now neither is Kamala Harris (they're sending Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff instead), which makes me think figuring out who was going to represent the U.S. at the Olympics factored at least a little into the timing of Biden's withdrawal announcement.
⛓️ Paris is being described as an "open air fortress" with "iron curtain" security measures where residents need to use QR codes just to access their homes and businesses. Go read the official explainer on security perimeters and tell me how in the world this is going to fly in four years in LA. On the other hand, we've already fenced off so many of our public spaces — will anyone even notice?
🚆 Despite the extra security, just hours before the opening ceremonies, a series of coordinated arson attacks shut down several of France's high-speed rail lines, forcing many spectators and athletes to use slower trains to get to Paris. LA officials will proudly say this can't happen here because we only have slower trains.
📉 In part because it's so hard for tourists to access destinations, Paris's cultural institutions are bracing for a 30 percent drop in visitors during the games, and the train outages could make this even worse. This is basically the opposite of what LA institutions are being told by local tourism officials, who are predicting a windfall of visitors in 2028.
🚩 At the close of the Paris games is the "handover" where Bass will receive the official Olympic flags and bring them back to LA to display inside City Hall. Seems reasonable until you see that this could cost the city $500,000. When I say that our public dollars are actually paying for the games, stuff like this adds up — and I sure hope someone is keeping a running total.
❓ What's a Cultural Olympiad? I'll be diving into that here on Torched soon. What other aspects of the games would you like explained? Send me your burning questions about anything megaevent-related at alissa(@)torched.la — or by replying to this email.
Sussman-inspired graphics were present at the LA84 Foundation's 40th anniversary gala where Councilmember Heather Hutt renamed the intersection for the foundation adjacent to its West Adams mansion. Across town, Casey Wasserman, the original 1984 Boy, commemorated his star-studded 50th with Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsom, and Doug Emhoff just days after the presidential debate. I wonder what the conversations in that valet line were like?
Every four years, journalists catch a very specific strain of Summer Olympic fever, scrambling to reheat the same lukewarm takes on how LA "saved" the games in 1984. Steer clear of those and peruse these Torched-approved reads instead.
While it's not specifically about the Olympics, LA Times climate columnist Sammy Roth's look at big oil in the Dodgers Foundation raises a lot of questions about how fossil-fuel companies are planning to claw their way into the 2028 spotlight
As you're trying to stay on top of sportswashing swindles and stadium scams — there are so many! — Field of Schemes, edited by my former editor Neil deMause, is a must-read
And a general reminder that I've got a list of Torched-recommended books up at Bookshop (where I earn a small commission if you buy one)
And speaking of games...
It's baaaaaack!Join me at Zebulon on Monday, August 12 — the day after the "handover" — to watch as I defend my 3x LA Jeopardy champion title! Here's everything you need to know about the latest installment of the silliest game show in town. Get your tickets today, share the flyer on Instagram, and come early for a Torched meet and greet at 6:30 p.m. before doors open at 8 p.m.!
📬 Reminder that this newsletter is fueled by your tips! Thanks to everyone who sends them! You can respond to this email! DM me on Instagram! Text me at 323 207 5607! Keep it handy by saving it in your phone as Torched Tips!
With less than 3.5 years until the opening ceremonies, the termed-out council president emeritus is taking on a new megaevent department, a new role, and a whole lot of city baggage
A sternly worded letter sent on behalf of over 30,000 hospitality workers to the Los Angeles World Cup Host Committee, along with the heads of the IOC, LA28, and FIFA, urges them to endorse the Olympic wage — or there might not be any games at all
