Four years before taking the worldwide spotlight with the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a delegation of Los Angeles leadership, headlined by Mayor Karen Bass, arrived in Paris on Thursday in an effort to learn how the French capital city has prepared for the upcoming games.
In a news release issued earlier this week, Bass said she led the trip in order to “learn from innovative housing, green transportation and infrastructure projects” in Paris ahead of L.A.’s own Olympics in 2028. Paris 2024 begins with opening ceremonies on July 26.
“The City of Los Angeles must be prepared to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Bass said. “If we wait until the Opening Ceremonies to be on the ground in Paris, we miss a crucial opportunity to learn from the City of Paris during their preparations to welcome the world this summer and this trip will allow us to fully immerse ourselves in the Olympic and Paralympic planning process in order to generate growth for Los Angeles.”
Upon touching down on Thursday, Bass met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo at Hôtel de Ville, the city hall of Paris, and spoke about infrastructure.
“You also reinforced what our goal is, and that is part of the Olympics, to be an accelerator,” Bass told Hidalgo in front of reporters. “To deal with different issues and the way you have used it to promote sustainability. We have the same interests.”
KTLA 5’s Sandra Mitchell, who came along on Bass’s trip in Paris this week, noted the similarities between the two cities on her ride from the airport Thursday morning.
“We noticed some similar problems between Paris and L.A.,” Mitchell said. “They too facing homeless issues, a lot of graffiti, there is trash and of course, traffic — so much traffic just trying to get from the airport.”
