LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Olympic cauldron blazing above the Coliseum gave it away: Los Angeles will host a third Olympics – in 2028.
The news on Wednesday after a vote by the International Olympic Committee in Lima, Peru, was anticlimactic. Competing with Paris to win the 2024 Summer Games, Los Angeles was awarded 2028 while Paris will play host in 2024.
Other than an LA 2028 sign posted at the Coliseum, there were no festivities at the site of the opening ceremonies in 1932 and 1984. A homeless man pushed a shopping cart past the black iron gates and a few people strolled by on their way to visit museums in Exposition Park south of downtown.
“It’ll be an honor for us to host the world, the finest athletes, the media and the spectators,” 1976 Olympic swimming champion John Naber said outside the Coliseum. “It’ll be a privilege for us to host the Games. Now we’re good at it.”
In ceding the 2024 games to Paris, the Los Angeles bid committee agreed to millions of dollars of financial sweeteners for accepting the later date.