Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass returned to Paris on Thursday, Aug. 8, to participate in the Olympic Games closing ceremony on Sunday. At the closing ceremony she will become the first Black woman mayor to receive the official Olympic flag. She will then return to Los Angeles with the flag on Monday afternoon.
Work is underway at Los Angeles City Hall to provide a display for the flag, which will be used in the opening ceremony of the 2028 Olympic Games in L.A. Upon her arrival at LAX Monday at about 2 p.m., Bass is expected to host a news conference to showcase the flag and highlights of her trip.
Bass landed late on Thursday afternoon in Paris where she toured the Paris 2024 Olympic cauldron at the Tuileries Garden with Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins and George Pla, president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission.
The group also visited Hotel De Ville — the name of the Paris city hall — for a live fan activation at the Games Terrace (La Terrasse des Jeux), home to two giant screens showing live broadcasts of the competition where fans from all over the city can watch the games together.
The mayor hopes to implement similar programs throughout the city of Los Angeles when the Southland hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028, according to her office.
“I want to thank the mayors of Paris, Saint-Ouen and L’lle-Saint-Denis for showing me what they have done leading up to the games that will leave a lasting legacy for their residents, and the ways that their cities have benefited from the Paris 2024 Games,” Bass said in a statement.
“It is a top priority that during the 2028 Games, we showcase all corners of Los Angeles, not just our popular tourist destinations but the incredible rich cultural communities all throughout our city. Together, we will ensure that all Angelenos benefit from the Games for decades to come,” her statement continued.
Bass met with Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine Mayor Karim Bouamrane at Saint-Ouen City Hall to follow up on the partnership established with Los Angeles during their meeting in March.
That partnership includes priorities for youth, the environment, sports and culture and to share knowledge from the 2024 Games experience, according to Bass’ office.
Saint-Ouen is a city just north of Paris, and Saint-Denis is home to the Olympic and Paralympic Athletes Village for the 2024 Games — a major reinvestment project that has created thousands of units of affordable and market-rate housing as well as new pedestrian paths and connectivity between communities lining the Seine River.
Bass and Bouamrane also met with youth from the 100 Black Men of America Summer 2024 Cultural Exchange — an initiative that gives youth the opportunity to visit a foreign country and learn about different cultures. Participants of the program are residents from L.A., the San Francisco Bay Area, New Orleans, Georgia, Maryland and London.
Bass visited the Parc des Nations at La Villette, home to 15 National Olympic Committee’s hospitality houses, which includes Club France. Ten of the 15 hospitality houses offer free entry, giving visitors from all around the world the opportunity to cheer on their athletes and feel at home at little to no cost. The park sees about 100,000 visitors a day.
As part of Bass’ trip, she visited Station Afrique, a space dedicated to members of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa. Mayor Bass hopes to implement a similar hospitality house system in Los Angeles, where L.A.’s diaspora communities, visitors and residents can connect to the cultures and nationalities represented within the Olympic movement.
