UNITED STATES – It’s a little less than four years from now, which is almost tomorrow. As the fires in Los Angeles continue to rage, there are more and more questions surrounding the ability of the City of Angels to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. To the point where some voices are being raised to simply cancel the Olympics.
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The Trumpist right is going round and round on the subject. Conservative FoxNews commentator Jesse Watters thus estimated that it was not “it’s not possible to show Los Angeles to the whole world”even suggesting the establishment of martial law. “The Los Angeles Games should be canceled”also wrote about X Charlie Kirk, who financed Donald Trump’s campaign. These criticisms are not surprising, especially since California is a liberal cradle very hostile to the new president-elect.
If at this stage there is no question of seriously giving up the Games, several concerns have been raised, starting with the financial consequences of the fires. The Olympic Games will in fact cost several billion dollars (6.9 the city hopes), just like the reconstruction of the neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades and Altadena where thousands of buildings, houses or businesses have gone up in smoke (between 130 and 150 billion according to initial estimates). As summarized in the New York Times Professor of sports economics Jadrian Wooten, it will be necessary to monitor how the city will manage these two pharaonic expenses and how it will allocate resources.
Fire risks in the middle of the Games
Los Angeles must also think about the risks of fires which could affect the megalopolis in the middle of the Olympics. “The situation is serious and given the developments linked to global warming, we can wonder if this situation could be repeated, possibly during the Games”alerted Simon Chadwick, professor of sports economics and geopolitics at the Skema business school in Paris, to the British daily The iPaper.
With consequences that are, to say the least, dramatic for tourists but also athletes. Indeed, for example, the UCLA University campus where the Olympic village will be located found itself very close to evacuation zones due to the progression of the Pacific Palisades fire.
Faced with the risks, University of Pennsylvania professor Mark Dyerson simply put forward the idea of reallocating the Games to Paris, host of the 2024 editions, if Los Angeles was in difficulty. “It would be unfortunate, but I am sure that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is weighing all the possibilities”he told the New York Post.
The authorities want to revive Los Angeles
The authorities want to be reassuring. California Governor Gavin Newsom promises to « glasses » the city, the state, and the entire country again by 2028. “In my humble opinion, and without being too naive or optimistic, this reinforces the need to work quickly and cooperate”he estimated, recalling that Los Angeles will also host the 2025 Club World Cup, NBA All-Star Game 2026, Superbowl 2027.
“The strength of our community and our unity in difficult times makes this city extraordinary, and when Los Angeles welcomes the world in 2028, we will be happier than ever.”enthused Casey Wasserman, president of the LA2028 organization in the New York Times.
Historical data also helps to temper concerns about environmental risks: according to the state agency CalFire, no fire that affected Los Angeles County, before the current one, was among the 20 most devastating in the History of California. Furthermore, the Games will take place in July, a time of year when the Santa Ana winds, a major factor in the current disaster, do not blow.
He died from Denver in 1976
The fact remains that the international committee can absolutely decide to cancel the Games. The contract between the IOC and the city of Los Angeles stipulates that the IOC may reserve the right to do so in the event of “war, civil disorder, boycott, embargo” you are “the health or safety of participants in the Games would be seriously threatened or compromised for any reason whatsoever”. The same clause was present for the Paris 2024 Games, as well as Tokyo 2020. Despite Covid, the latter were not canceled but postponed for a year. And at this point, the IOC has not considered pulling the 2028 Olympics from Los Angeles.
Conversely, is it possible that Los Angeles decides to cancel its Games? The only mention in the contract speaks of “unforeseen or excessive circumstances” which would allow the organizers “to consider reasonable modifications”. It is specified that “the IOC (is) not obliged to make these changes”.
A leap into the past still allows us to remember that a city has already given up on organizing the Olympics. It was 1970 when the IOC awarded the Winter Games to Denver, Colorado. Faced with increasing criticism of the negative ecological and economic impacts of the event, then-Governor John Love found himself increasingly isolated. A 1972 referendum asking for residents’ opinions on increasing the budget for the Olympics having been largely rejected, Colorado decided to throw in the towel. The 1976 Winter Games were ultimately awarded to Innsbruck, Austria.
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