Mayor Bass says he’s happy Paris is hosting the Olympics ahead of LA: ‘I couldn’t have imagined it’

When Los Angeles last hosted the Olympic Games in 1984, the World Games left a mixed impression on the city.

There was pride in the millions of dollars in profits the international event generated, which so many American cities before it could not. And then there was the controversy, which told of a city accused of trying to hide its homeless population and questionable heavy police to keep up some appearance on the world stage.

Currently Paris is with 10,500 athletes representing 205 delegations.

Like the summer of 2024 Olympic Games start FridayLos Angeles Mayor Karen Bass visits Paris to see what she can learn as LA prepares for host in 2028It’s the first time in more than four decades that LA has hosted the event, and it’s already drawing criticism from social justice groups who say the costly, massive event could end up hurting the city’s poorest and most vulnerable.

For others, the 2028 Games could be a chance to recapture the magic of Los Angeles in 1984, when American gymnast Mary Lou Retton rose to stardom and corporate sponsors like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s took on a financial burden that in previous years had been borne by city and state governments. The 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics were the first to be held without government funding since 1896 and actually generated a $223 million profit after so many cities had previously suffered huge losses.

But there is one thing that many people agree on, and Mayor Bass himself acknowledges it.

And it’s not the logistics of having big enough stadiums and buildings. Los Angeles needs to work on itself, look inward and address the most pressing problems of the day — from a homeless crisis as housing prices continue to rise to a spate of violent crimes on buses and trains this year.

“We didn’t have to build big venues,” Bass said. “We have enough stadiums, enough venues, and so I hope we can use all of our energy for the games to solve some of our problems.”

One of the biggest problems facing LA is, of course, the homeless crisis.

“We have a problem with homeless residents in Los Angeles, so we want to make sure that everybody has housing. We don’t want the whole world to come to Los Angeles and see people living on the streets,” Bass said.

This year the city saw a very slight decrease in its homeless population, which has increased for the past five years in a row. In 1984, L.A. still had a significant population of people struggling with homelessness. In the lead-up to the Olympics, the city cracked down hard, enforcing laws criminalizing homelessness while police made arrests and evicted people from Skid Row, according to Curbed Los Angeles , which reported an interview a local police chief did with the Los Angeles Times a week before the games.

“We are trying to decontaminate the area,” Los Angeles Police Chief Billy Wedgeworth told the Times at the time.

Today, Bass wants to do things differently, and she has been critical of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent order calling on local governments to clear camps of people living outside in tents. Her “Inside Safe” program to move people out of camps and into places like motels has drawn both criticism and support from advocacy groups.

“Frankly, our homeless population is so large that we can’t move them even if we wanted to,” she said. “And we don’t. We want to house them.”

But the mayor said the most important thing she learned this week in Paris is how the city handles transportation. Paris has a well-established public transit system that more closely resembles New York City’s than L.A., the California city long known for its traffic and freeways. Yet it’s not just the functionality of Los Angeles’ transit system that’s at stake, it’s also the safety of it.

According to Bass, more investment in social workers and other health care providers will help solve the safety problems of the county’s LA Metro system. She said that law enforcement presence is necessary, but so are these other solutions. Earlier this year, LA Metro saw an alarming series of violent crimesfrom attacks on drivers to killing passengers.

In May, Metro’s CEO Stephanie Wiggins was adamant that the public transportation system would be ready to accommodate the world by 2028.

“As far as 2028 goes, it’s clear that failure is not an option,” Wiggins said. “There’s no fear that these issues are going to happen in 2028.”

“We know that today is an incredible opportunity to improve the experience,” she said. “So that in 2028, when we receive the world, transportation is the least of their worries.”

Environmental concerns are also being addressed, with the mayor promising that coastal waters will be swimmable — except for recent sewage spills. Last week, a 15,000-gallon spill closed two beaches in L.A. County.

“I think the oceans will be ready,” she said.

It’s clear that LA still has a lot of work to do. And Bass admits as much, recounting her reaction when Paris and Los Angeles were announced as the next Olympic hosts in 2018.

“When I met Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, I told her I was so happy she won,” Bass said, adding that she didn’t take office until late 2022 and was worried about how she would prepare if LA had to host in 2024.

“I can’t imagine being mayor, a new mayor, and then also having to go to international competitions,” she said.

Los Angeles will host the 2026 World Cup, which Bass said would be a “dress rehearsal” in preparation for the Olympics two years later.

“The World Cup will be huge, but it will not be nearly as big and complex as the Olympic Games,” she said.

After the opening ceremony on Friday night, Bass will make her way back to LA. She will return to Europe for the closing ceremony, for a special event with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who, like Bass, is the first female mayor in her city’s history.

“The mayor of Paris, Mayor Hidalgo, will give me the flag,” she said. “For me it will be a very special day.”