Vowing to make the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics the “games for all” people, Los Angeles city officials and organizers of the 2028 Summer Games held a ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 12 at City Hall to celebrate the return of the Olympic flag to the City of Angels and – for the first time – the arrival of the Paralympic flag.
More than 200 people – including over 40 former Olympians and Paralympians who participated in games as long ago as 1968 – attended to celebrate Los Angeles as host of the next Summer Games. In 2028, L.A. will host the Olympics for the third time and the Paralympics for the first time.
Last month, Mayor Karen Bass was handed the official Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris and returned home with the flag aboard a plane with several dozen Olympians representing Team USA.
And earlier this week she returned home to L.A. with the Paralympic flag after receiving it during the Paralympics closing ceremony held on Sunday.
“Today, as we take responsibility for these flags here in Los Angeles and for the next four years, we take on the responsibility of lifting up the values of the Olympic movement. It is in that spirit that we believe the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles will be a ‘Games for All,’” Bass said in a speech during Thursday’s flag installation ceremony.
With “Games for All” as the theme of Thursday’s ceremony, Bass said she wants an Olympics that benefits all Angelenos – from supporting local small businesses and stimulating the economy to making lasting improvements to the environment and the region’s mass transportation system.
“We want to live up to that declaration so that all Angelenos in every corner of our city benefit from the major global event – not just during the summer of 2028 but starting now and for decades to come,” she said.
Thursday’s ceremony began with a taiko drum performance by the J-Town Taiko Club in Los Angeles, a land welcoming by…
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