For seven years, the promise of the 2028 Summer Olympics has shimmered on the horizon as a source of pride and celebration for Los Angeles. There were concerns: the homelessness crisis, cost overruns, comparisons with the successful Games last year in Paris. But for the most part, 2028 held out the hope of delivering as much of a boost for the region’s economy and international image as the Olympics of 1984.
That has all been called into question in the space of a week.
The fires that have ripped across the region have presented Los Angeles with a challenge that would test the bandwidth and resources of any city: how to host a 17-day, $7 billion spectacle expected to draw as many as 15 million visitors to a region of 18 million people, all while rebuilding entire neighborhoods erased by fire.