Does LA’s Turmoil Threaten A Successful 2028 Olympic Games?
Unrest in Los Angeles Casts Ads To Existing Challenges, Putting A Shadow over Olympic Ambitions
A City in Crisis
Los Angeles, home of the 2028 Olympics, shaken by violent unrest tied to Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement actions, questions Kirsty Coventry's upcoming International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency – she is set to take office in less than two weeks. The seven-time Olympic medal-winning Zimbabwean swimming legend secured exactly 49 of 97 votes in March—to make history as the first woman and first African to serve as IOC president. Her leadership, crucial for selecting the 2036 Summer Games host, is at risk amid the chaos that has become the host city, Los Angeles.
Unrest, Curfews, Military Response
Protests began last week when the Department of Homeland Security conducted immigration enforcement actions around Los Angeles, making dozens of arrests. We all have watched what came next. Massive protests during the days that followed, with some violence – turning into unruly, violent mobs at night. LAPD officers have had to use tear gas and other tactics to deal with attacks on persons, property, and more. Mayor Karen Bass had to order a complete lockdown of downtown Los Angeles. It has been reported that over 300 arrests were made within two days, with reports of more than $50 million in damages. President Trump deployed approximately 4,000 National Guard personnel and 700 Marines to protect federal property and federal immigration enforcement officers. These deployments by Trump have resulted in name-calling by California and Los Angeles leaders, adding to the turmoil.
Olympic Preparations Collide with Political Turmoil
The unrest in Los Angeles is further complicated by the overlap of Olympic preparations with the intensifying 2028 U.S. presidential campaign. California Governor Gavin Newsom, visibly positioning himself as a candidate for the Democratic nomination, has seized on the crisis to challenge federal overreach, amplifying tensions with legal action against the National Guard deployment. This political maneuvering risks turning the Olympic spotlight into a stage for partisan battles, threatening the Games' image as a unifying global event. With Newsom’s likely candidacy fueling national debates, the IOC faces the challenge of keeping the 2028 Olympics a symbol of harmony rather than a flashpoint for America’s deepening divisions.
The notion that Los Angeles’ current turmoil will roil the 2028 Olympics is far from vague speculation. The Olympics, an international media spectacle, drew 5 billion viewers globally for the Paris 2024 Games, with 30.6 million daily viewers in the United States alone—any unrest risks amplifying divisions on a world stage, undermining the Games’ unifying spirit.
What It Means for the Games
Los Angeles County alone has some 75,000 people living on the streets today. Added to protests, troop deployments, and nightly curfews, the spectacle defies Olympic ideals of freedom and harmony. Having learned from experience that the 1992 LA riots cost $800 million and current restlessness already surpassing more optimistic estimates, the IOC must weigh whether the 2028 Games will prevent it from being a scripted spectacle—or an international symbol of internal unrest.
Coventry and the IOC, as well as the U.S. Olympic Committee, would benefit from starting to weigh options now. In the past, the IOC has had to deal with major disruptions due to the Second World War and the COVID-19 outbreak. Let’s hope Los Angeles can get its act together. There were issues before this past week. But now, things are worse.