By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) – Los Angeles cannot compete with the iconic landmarks of the Paris Olympics but LA28 Games organisers are confident the Hollywood factor and the American city’s identity will help them raise the bar when they host the event in four years’ time.
The Paris Games were a hit with fans, athletes, sponsors and broadcasters and LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover praised French organisers for an “incredible Games”.
Hoover, a former U.S. Army lieutenant general who came out of retirement to take charge of the next summer Games, admitted there were areas where the West Coast city could not compete with Paris, but said they had plenty to offer nonetheless.
“Paris is an amazing venue. Every single one of the venues here in Paris is iconic and you cannot compete against playing beach volleyball or blind football in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower,” he told Reuters in an interview on Friday.
“But every city has a personality, every city has something different to offer the Olympics and we think that (in) LA we have our own iconic sporting venues; we’ve got the Coliseum we’ve got the Rose Bowl, we’ve got amazing world class athletic competition venues.
“Also in LA we have diversity, we’ve got culture we’ve got sport we’ve got entertainment we’ve got storytelling and that’s what you’re going to see when you come to LA, it is that amazing ability to bring everybody together and unite the world around sport.”
With venues close to each other, easy transportation and competitions in or near stunning monuments in the heart of the city, Paris 2024 set a high bar.
ROCKET MAN
Hoover, however, believes LA can do better. After all, they have got Hollywood, which has already played a part in the 1932 and 1984 Olympics.
“Hollywood is magic. When you think of LA and you think of LA28 or you think of LA 1984 or even LA 1932, Hollywood played a role in delivering the Games to the world and each one of them had legacies that they gave to the movement,” the 63-year-old said.
“We will raise the bar just as Paris raised the bar for us. We will raise the bar for Brisbane in 2032 and they’re going to say ‘geez, what is Brisbane gonna do’.”
While he remained tight-lipped about LA’s opening ceremony plans after Paris delivered a brilliant show along the Seine river – the first Olympic ceremony to be held outside a stadium – Hoover recalled how LA stunned the world in 1984.
“Look at 1984, they had rocket man, so who knows maybe we’ll bring back rocket man,” he said with a smile.
At the 1984 opening ceremony, William Suitor, one of the first to master the rocket belt – a large rocket pack powered by hydrogen peroxide that allows pilots to make short solo flights – stunned viewers and spectators as he flew across the Olympic stadium wearing the futuristic device.
The U.S. elections in November will see a new president elected but Hoover was unfazed about any potential impact on the Games.
“Just as (France) had snap elections right before the Olympics… I’m focused on delivering the best Games ever. It will be the biggest Olympics ever,” he said.
In a city that is much larger than Paris and with venues that will be more spread out, LA will have to overcome challenges around transport.
“We’re starting that now, we think there are ways to bring sustainability to the table by being more efficient and effective in how we’re transporting people to and from the Games, and how we transport our athletes to and from the Games,” he said.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
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