Los Angeles can learn valuable lessons from hosting matches at the World Cup as the city prepares to then “size up and scale” plans for the return of the Olympics in two years’ time, according to LA28 chief executive Reynold Hoover.
Eight World Cup matches will be staged at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles, starting with the opening fixture for co-hosts the United States against Paraguay on June 12 as one of five group games, with another two in the round of 32 as well as one quarter-final.
While the two global events will be dealing with many different logistical – not to mention security and political – challenges, Hoover feels the World Cup will provide valuable insight for the LA organising committee as preparations continue to host the Games for a third time.
“The World Cup is a great opportunity for the city to again shine. It is a tremendous opportunity for all of us and we are taking some great lessons learned,” Hoover said at a press conference in LA on Thursday following a three-day visit by the International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission.
“We are looking at their transportation and how they are moving fans and spectators around. We are looking at security and security planning, but recognise that World Cup is an entirely different model and size, scope and scale than from what we are putting on.
“So we take that – we have to kind of kind of size up and scale what lessons we are learning from hem, but we are in close co-ordination with them all the time, and we are looking forward to the World Cup coming.”
LA28 chair Casey Wasserman remains confident the Games will provide a welcome for all, despite the continuing diplomatic tensions around the globe.
“We are preparing to host every country on Earth, and so our mindset around visas has been deeply engaged with both (US) Homeland Security and the (US) State Department, because of the complexity of that.
“This is a unique, complex time for Iran and the World Cup. Iran was always coming to the Olympics, North Korea is coming to the Olympics. It may be that Russia and Belarus are coming back to the Olympics.
“So visas for countries where we don’t have diplomatic relations has been part of our gameplan since 2017. We have been deeply engaged with the State Department to be ahead of that.
“I feel incredibly confident that we will deliver against that for all of the cohorts from all those countries, not just athletes, but officials, fans, press and political figures, so it is a different perspective for us, and something that we have been planning for for a long time.”
Chair of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for LA28 Nicole Hoevertsz feels the city remains on course to host another memorable Games, with some four million tickets already having been sold and around 300,000 people expressing an interest in volunteering.
“We look at what has been achieved, and we use that progress to shape what still lies ahead,” said Hoevertsz, a former synchronized swimmer who represented the Netherlands Antilles at the 1984 LA Olympics.
“The progress that we have seen so far gives us every confidence that the next two years will put us on course for another memorable edition of the Olympic Games.”
