[ad_1]
PARIS — From the City of Love to Los Angeles, planning for the 2028 Olympics is underway, and organizers are paying close attention to what has worked so far in Paris and what hasn’t.
This will be the third time Los Angeles has hosted the Olympic Games (the last time was 40 years ago) and the first time Los Angeles has hosted the Paralympic Games.
Janet Evans remembers sitting in the stands at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics when she was 12 years old.
“I remember seeing those athletes marching behind their country’s flags in their beautiful opening ceremony uniforms, and I thought, ‘I want to do that,’ ” Evans said.
That was before she won four gold medals and set world records as a U.S. Olympic swimmer. Now, as sports director of LA2028, the organizing committee that will move the Olympics to Los Angeles, she’s focused on advocating for athletes and their concerns.
“Having lived in three Olympic villages, having been to three Olympic Games…it’s really important to understand the athletes’ experiences,” Evans said.
A focus will be on listening to concerns expressed by athletes after the Games. But Evans said some of the concerns that have emerged in recent weeks — reports of uncomfortable beds, limited air conditioning and food shortages — will not be an issue because of plans to house athletes on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
“We serve food to thousands of students every day. UCLA hosts thousands of students, so we’re tested and proven,” he said. “(I) eat the food at UCLA at least once a week, and it’s delicious. I can attest to that.”
As for concerns specific to Los Angeles, many are most concerned about traffic congestion on the freeways and streets of City of Dreams and Hollywood.
Evans said the plan includes working to overcome some of the challenges of delivering items to athletes late at night, working with companies to implement a more robust work-from-home plan for employees in the Southern California region during the Games, and developing “Olympic lanes” to ensure athletes can “get from Point A to Point B faster.”
The official transfer to Los Angeles will take place on Sunday afternoon during the closing ceremony in Paris. Evans hopes the next four years of construction and Los Angeles’ own opening ceremony will inspire a new generation of audiences to follow their dreams.
“That’s what the Olympics do — they change people’s lives,” Evans said. “I think that’s why everybody loves the Olympics. They bring people together.”
[ad_2]
Source link
