LA Games give city an opportunity to improve Mayor Bass says

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles will be ready to welcome the world when it hosts the Olympics in 2028 and will use the time leading up to the opening ceremony to improve the city, LA Mayor Karen Bass said on May 8.

Games organisers LA28 revealed earlier in the day that Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood would host the opening ceremony in an unprecedented dual-venue celebration, marking another milestone in planning.

It will create “an unprecedented dual-venue celebration that will earn the Coliseum the unique distinction as the first venue in history to host events for three Olympic Games while also marking the Stadium in Inglewood’s Olympic debut”, the committee said in a press statement.

The Coliseum was the main venue for the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. SoFi Stadium is the home of the National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

“Our city and our country is going through challenging times right now but the Games present a unique opportunity for all of us to come together and work with urgency to better our city,” Ms Bass said at a press conference at Memorial Coliseum.

“This is the only time the world comes together as one and I know that we will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.”

She said Memorial Coliseum would serve as the “heartbeat” for a Games that will stretch from the San Fernando Valley in the north to Trestles Beach in the south with competitions in downtown LA, Long Beach, Universal Studios and beyond. She said: “The entire city will be on display.”

To that end, she has launched Shine LA, a programme that brings communities together to beautify neighbourhoods block by block.

“Whether we are planting trees or painting or sprucing up our schools, we’re