LOS ANGELES — The arrival of the Olympic flag in Southern California this week set the stage for a trilogy in the making as Los Angeles prepares to host the Games for a third time.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Games, when the world's eyes will gaze upon a region accustomed to being in the spotlight.
But the Los Angeles of today is a far different city from what it was in 1984 and certainly in 1932, when it first hosted the Olympics. It’s hotter and more crowded. More people sleep on the streets, in their cars or in shelters than they did four decades ago.
Organizers and local leaders have four years to fulfill an array of projects and promises, like expanding the rail system, renovating Los Angeles International Airport and wiping out homelessness.
The mammoth undertaking is being borne by a region beleaguered by traffic, the effects of climate change and persistent homelessness that has only recently started to show signs of letting up.
Despite the hurdles, officials insist Los Angeles will be ready for prime time.
“After witnessing the Paris Games, I am more excited and enthusiastic about the Games in L.A. than ever before,” said Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian, who returned from Paris on Monday. “L.A. is the only city in the world to host two financially successful Olympics. We will do it again.”
Many residents remember the 1984 Olympics as a golden era for the city. The streets weren’t congested, the weather was mild, and an infectious sense of pride spread through Southern California.
“It was one of the greatest times in Los Angeles,” Krekorian said.
In many ways, Los Angeles has been preparing for the 2028 Olympics since then.
Infrastructure is in place, including new arenas like SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which hosted the 2022 Super Bowl, and the neighboring Intuit Dome.
Historic venues like the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, opened in 1923, and a nearby diving pool built for the 1932 Games will also be used as venues for Olympic competitions.
Beach volleyball will return to its birthplace of Southern California, and UCLA will be transformed into an Olympic Village.
But shuttling athletes and spectators across the various host cities will be an Olympian feat on its own.
Los Angeles County is a sprawling metropolis comprising 88 cities and covering more than 4,000 square miles. In 1984, 8 million people lived in the region, according to the U.S. census. Now, 10 million do.
As of now, the Olympics will be held in at least four different cities in the county, a number that could change as the LA28 organizing committee finalizes agreements with venues.
When Los Angeles first bid on the Olympics, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti championed a $43 billion plan to accelerate transit projects in time for the Games. Of the 28 proposals in the plan, 18 are on course to be completed before the Games begin, according to a report in March by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Initially, organizers talked about making the Los Angeles Games the first "car-free" Olympics, an approach University of Southern California public policy professor Genevieve Giuliano called a "stretch goal."
“The real goal is more about reducing car use as much as possible,” she said.
Spectators will be encouraged to take public transportation to events, where parking will be limited, organizers said, and Mayor Karen Bass has said she plans to emulate strategies used in 1984, such as deploying more public buses to reduce traffic and asking companies to stagger their employees' work hours.
The vice president of the ’84 organizing committee, David Simon, said that a chorus of concerns were voiced ahead of those Games but that, in the end, they were largely unfounded.
"The proof is in good planning, which we’ve had the past two Games," he said. "You can’t prove the naysayers wrong until the Games happen."
But asking people to wait outdoors for public transportation in the heat of July could carry some safety risks, said Bharat Venkat, director of the Heat Lab at UCLA, which studies the effects of extreme heat and heat inequality.
Last month was the hottest on record in California, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, surpassing the record set in July 2021. Throughout July, wildfires burned across the state and temperatures in the desert soared above 120 degrees.
“I have no doubt you will see heat-related illnesses,” Venkat said.“And this isn’t just a question of spectators. It’s also a question of conditioning — whether it’s getting unsafe to compete.”
While it is impossible to know what the temperatures will be four years out, organizers of the 2028 Olympics said they will be prepared.
Venues are air-conditioned, and many outdoor events are likely to be scheduled in the evenings for prime-time viewing.
Questions of athletes’ safety will be determined by the International Olympic Committee and the sporting federations, similar to what happened in Paris when swimming competitions were postponed because of water quality issues in the Seine River.
Another concern is what will happen to the thousands of homeless people living on the streets, a festering crisis that leaders aren’t eager for the world to see.
Homelessness is down 2% in the city and 0.3% in the county, according to federal data, a small but meaningful change in a decadeslong problem.
Bolstered by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently issued an executive order instructing state agencies to remove homeless encampments on public property.
Los Angeles officials have said they won't clear the encampments until they can find or build enough housing for people who are living in tents and cars.
Eric Sheehan of NOlympics LA, a group that opposes the Games in Los Angeles, said he's concerned homeless people will be displaced.
"Every Olympics exacerbates displacement, gentrification, militarization and privatization of public space, environmental destruction and worker exploitation," Sheehan said. "Even if it ran a profit, it would hurt our people by enabling evictions throughout the region."
Organizers have promised an “authentic” Los Angeles experience, but what that will look like depends on what leaders are able to deliver, said Alan Abrahamson, a sportswriter and journalism professor at USC.
“The ultimate trick in Los Angeles is what is authentic? What are we presenting to the world?" he said. "That is the big reveal. Who are we?”
Alicia Victoria Lozano reported from Los Angeles and Daniel Arkin from New York City.
