2024-08-12 06:00:02
Over the past two weeks, the best athletes from across the world have competed against one another for eternal glory and the shiny gold medals that come with it.
As the festivities have unfolded, fans in the United States and abroad who have tuned into the action have been treated with picturesque shots of the host city of Paris, including images of iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre Museum and Palace of Versailles, among others.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS:Follow USA TODAY’s complete coverage here
After that exhilarating stretch, though, the 2024 Summer Olympics are drawing to a close.
Scarcity adds to the beauty and allure of the Olympics, with the famed international competition occurring just once every four years. Once one Olympics draws to a close, questions naturally arise from around the world about when they’ll return — and, particularly, where they’ll be staged.
For Americans, it’s a familiar place.
Here’s everything you need to know about the host of the 2028 Summer Olympics, including venues and the host’s history with the event:
Who is hosting the 2028 Olympics?
The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles.
It’s the first time a city in the United States has staged the Summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996, and the first time either the Winter or Summer Games have been in the U.S. since the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
How many times has L.A. hosted the Olympics?
The 2028 Games will be the third time that Los Angeles has been the site of the Olympics, having previously done so in 1932 and 1984. That will put it in a tie with Paris (1900, 1924, 2024) and London (1908, 1948, 2012) for most Olympics hosted.
By the end of the 2028 Games, the U.S. will have hosted more Summer or Winter Games than any other country, with nine (five in summer, four in winter). The next-closest nation, France, has served as the host for six Olympics (three apiece for summer and winter).
Los Angeles had originally been named one of five candidates for the 2024 Summer Olympics, along with Paris, Rome, Budapest and Hamburg. The final three members of that group eventually withdrew, leaving just Los Angeles and Paris. In an unusual move for the body, the International Olympic Committee ended up rewarding Olympic bids simultaneously. Paris received the 2024 Olympics, marking the centennial of the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, while in September 2017, Los Angeles was formally awarded the 2028 Summer Olympics.
“Los Angeles presented an excellent candidature that embraces the Olympic Agenda 2020 sustainability priorities by maximizing the use of existing facilities and encouraging the engagement of more youth in the Olympic Movement,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement. “Therefore, we are very happy that, as part of this Host City Contract, we are able to increase the access of the city’s youth to sport and encourage the healthy lifestyle of Angelenos for the next 11 years.
Los Angeles 2028 Olympic venues
As Bach mentioned in the announcement, Los Angeles’ bid was enhanced by its incorporation of existing athletic venues, cutting down on costs and offering a more environmentally sustainable option for the Olympics.
The broader Los Angeles area has that sports infrastructure in place from its 10 teams across the five major American men’s professional leagues, two major-conference colleges in UCLA and USC, and structures that had been constructed for previous Olympics.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of athletic competition and achievement, and we’re proud to host the Los Angeles 2028 Games in some of the greatest stadiums and arenas ever built,” LA28 chairperson and president Casey Wasserman said in a statement. “LA28’s updated venue plan will provide the ideal Hollywood stage for the world’s top athletes, and choosing from spectacular existing venues, wherever they are, rather than building new permanent or temporary stadiums, achieves more than $150 million in savings and new revenue to help maintain a balanced budget. We look forward to partnering with these venues, and their experienced operators and workforce, to deliver an unparalleled experience for athletes and fans in 2028.”
As part of an updated venue plan that was released on June 21, here is a look at where some of the various Olympic competitions will be held:
- Cypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles — home to the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Sparks — will host gymnastics events.
- SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, home to the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, will house swimming. It is expected to hold 38,000 spectators, making it the largest swimming venue in Olympic history.
- The Intuit Dome, the yet-to-be-completed Los Angeles Clippers arena in Inglewood, will be where basketball will take place.
- Track and field competitions will be held at the LA Memorial Coliseum, making it the only stadium in history to host track and field events in three different Olympics.
- Parts of the opening and closing ceremonies will take place at the Coliseum and SoFi Stadium.
- Diving will be held at LA84 Foundation/John C. Argue Swim Stadium, which hosted aquatics events for the 1932 Summer Olympics.
- Archery, cycling (BMX racing and freestyle) and skateboarding will be hosted at the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Center.
- The Long Beach Sports Park in Long Beach will be the site for artistic swimming and para swimming competitions.
- Equestrian will take place at Galway Downs in Temecula.
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Perhaps the most notable news from June’s updated venues plan was softball and canoe slalom taking place in Oklahoma City, not Los Angeles.
The largest softball venue in southern California seats fewer than 2,000 people, which does not meet expected spectator demand for the 2028 Games, so Olympic softball will be held at 13,000-seat Devon Park in Oklahoma City, the home of the Women’s College World Series.
There is no existing canoe slalom venue in southern California or anywhere in the western United States, meaning that competition will also take place in Oklahoma City, which has a canoe slalom venue built to international competition standards.
REQUIRED READING:Olympic medal count today: What is the medal count at 2024 Paris Games on Sunday?
Los Angeles Olympics medal count 1984
The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles were widely regarded as one of the most successful in the event’s illustrious history. Aided by low construction costs and private corporate funding, the games generated a profit of $223 million, with a healthy chunk of that being placed in the non-profit LA84 Foundation.
The 1984 Olympics were highlighted by Carl Lewis winning gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4×100 relay and long jump — becoming the first person to do so since Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin — and Mary Lou Retton becoming the first American woman to win gold in the all-around gymnastics competition.
The games were boycotted by 14 Eastern Bloc countries — namely, the Soviet Union and East Germany — in response to the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
Here are the top 15 countries in terms of medal count from the 1984 Olympics. For full medal count, click here.
- United States: 174 (83 gold)
- West Germany: 59 (17 gold)
- Romania: 53 (20 gold)
- Canada: 44 (10 gold)
- Great Britain: 37 (5 gold)
- China: 32 (15 gold)
- Italy: 32 (14 gold)
- Japan: 32 (10 gold)
- France: 28 (5 gold)
- Australia: 24 (4 gold)
- Republic of Korea: 19 (6 gold)
- Sweden: 19 (2 gold)
- Yugoslavia: 18 (7 gold)
- Netherlands: 13 (5 gold)
- New Zealand: 11 (8 gold)
