Los Angeles 2028 Olympics organisers have expressed confidence that Donald Trump’s latest travel ban will not prevent participants from entering the US.
Planning and preparation for the event have made “significant progress” as LA28 chairman and president Casey Wasserman thanked the federal government for recognising that the Olympics require special consideration.
During a news conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Wasserman said: “It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration and I actually want to thank the federal government for recognising that.
“It’s very clear that the federal government understands that that’s an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for.
“We have great confidence that that will only continue. It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward through the games.”
International Olympic Committee member Nicole Hoevertsz anticipates the US government will cooperate, as it did in hosting previous Olympics.
“That is something that we will be definitely looking at and making sure that it is guaranteed as well,” she said. “We are very confident that this is going to be accomplished. I’m sure this is going to be executed well.”
Sixteen IOC members recently concluded a three-day visit, inspecting multiple venue locations, including Dodger Stadium.
The IOC’s Coordination Commission was last in the city in November.
“We’ve seen significant progress,” Hoevertsz said. “We leave the city very confident with the road ahead.”
Noting the games are 1,135 days from opening on July 14, 2028, Wasserman said, “We are in delivery mode now.”
Saturday marks the six-month anniversary of the start of the deadly wildfires that devastated Pacific Palisades on the city’s west side and the community of Altadena, northeast of downtown.
“In California, there are some obvious things you should be prepared for — earthquakes, wildfires,” Wasserman said. “You certainly hope that they never happen, but shame on us if we’re not prepared for any and every kind of eventuality because that is our job.”
Reynold Hoover, who runs the day-to-day work of LA28 as its CEO, said contingency planning is ongoing.
“The wildfires gave us an opportunity within the organisation to think a little bit differently about how we’re structured and how we impact the community and how we think about sustainability,” he said.
From a financial standpoint, Wasserman said he’s “incredibly confident” the games will turn a profit.
“Frankly, losing money is not really an option for us. We understand that while there is a backstop from the city, that is not something we ever intend to get close to,” he said. “We have built our entire delivery to be tracked against the revenue we create, which is why we are being so aggressive, and have been for a long time, on generating as much revenue as possible.”
Wasserman said LA28 is “well over” 60 per cent in contracted revenue.
“We have more revenue today contracted than Paris did total revenue,” he said, “and we haven’t sold a ticket yet.”