The Gathering Storm Over the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

It seems like every few days something else emerges to cast a pall on what might soon be called the “ill-fated” LA 28 Olympic Games…

🕒 6 minute read time

Can LA handle the Games—or is the city already cracking under the pressure?

Picture this: it’s a blistering August afternoon in downtown L.A., and the city is already groaning under the weight of traffic, construction delays, and political squabbles—all before the Olympic torch has even been lit. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics were meant to be a unifying global celebration—a showcase of athletic excellence and American hospitality. Instead, Los Angeles looks increasingly unprepared to carry the weight of the Games. A billion-dollar city budget deficit, the long shadow of catastrophic wildfires, and the sheer logistical nightmare of welcoming millions of visitors have left the event teetering on the edge of chaos. Add to this a proposed ballot measure threatening key Olympic venues, President Trump’s new, high-profile but controversial task force announced yesterday, and worsening tension between city and federal officials, and the picture looks far less like triumph and more like trouble. Things are much worse than they were when I raised concerns back in mid-June.

A City Stretched Thin

Los Angeles is buckling under financial and social strain. The city’s $6.9 billion Olympic budget is already stretched thin by inflation and rebuilding costs from the January wildfires in Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, and Altadena, which destroyed an estimated 18,000 structures and caused north of $40 billion in damages.

Only four permits have been issued for 6,000 homes in Palisades, leaving families displaced and living in motels or temporary trailers nearly two years later, if they haven’t left L.A. altogether. One local father told a radio station last month he’s still waiting for a building permit while his family shares a single motel room—he’s lost count of how many times the city promised progress.

Meanwhile, Mayor Karen Bass faces an unenviable balancing act: managing a homelessness crisis affecting 75,000 people while trying to pull off a “car-free” Olympics that seems doomed before it begins. Of the 3,000 promised bus shelters meant to ease traffic congestion during the Games, only 23 exist. As one commuter joked last week, “Maybe they should add a marathon just for us—we’re already walking everywhere.” The LA28 contract also holds the city liable for $270 million in initial cost overruns, with California taxpayers backing another $270 million—fueling public skepticism about whether this is a good deal at all.

The Ballot Measure Threat

In June, Unite Here Local 11, a hotel workers’ union, introduced a ballot measure requiring citywide voter approval for “event centers,” including Olympic venues or temporary structures over 50,000 square feet or 1,000 seats. City officials warn this could force separate elections on five Olympic sites, including the Los Angeles Convention Center, Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, and Venice Beach, slated for cycling and triathlon events.

Councilmember Traci Park called it an “assault on our local economy,” while Tim McOsker warned it threatens a planned San Pedro viewing area for Olympic sailing. If passed next June, the measure could push venues outside city limits, creating a logistical nightmare for LA28 organizers and leaving residents caught in the middle of political brinkmanship.

Tensions with Trump’s Task Force

Just yesterday, President Trump intensified the drama by signing an executive order creating a White House task force for the 2028 Olympics, chaired by himself with Vice President JD Vance as vice chair. Housed in the Department of Homeland Security, the task force is tasked with coordinating security, transportation, and visa processing.

Trump’s pledge to deploy the National Guard or military to “keep the Olympics safe” reminds Angelenos of back in June, when Trump sent troops to Los Angeles for immigration enforcement—an action that prompted widespread protests and fierce pushback from Mayor Bass, who accused him of “inciting chaos and fear.” City Hall sources still recall the day Bass walked out of a press conference in frustration as federal troops rolled down Alameda Street—a memory that makes talk of a military presence at LA28 all the more combustible. Trump’s public jab that Bass is “not very competent” only deepened the rift, setting the stage for an uneasy partnership as the Games approach.

The Gender Testing Controversy

Trump also fueled debate by announcing “very strong testing” for women’s sports at the 2028 Olympics, aligning with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s amended policy under his “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. Advocates, including the Independent Council on Women’s Sports and fencer Stephanie Turner, have pushed for mandatory sex screening—such as karyotyping—to ensure fairness.

While Trump insists the policy will stand, his comments on strict enforcement raised new concerns among Los Angeles officials, who already fear his immigration policies could complicate visa processing for international athletes. This adds yet another layer of uncertainty to LA28’s already fragile preparations.

So, Does It Matter?

To Kirsty Coventry, the new IOC President from Zimbabwe, and her colleagues, the daily news out of Los Angeles must feel like a storm that never lets up. The IOC selected Los Angeles in 2017 only after other contenders—Rome, Hamburg, and Budapest—withdrew from the 2024/2028 bidding process, leaving just L.A. and Paris. With Paris locked in for 2024, Los Angeles became the 2028 host by default.

Now, with a city in fiscal distress, a ballot measure threatening venues, and a U.S. president who’s engagement is bringing controversy to the process, some IOC insiders may quietly wonder if one of those early bidders would have been the safer long-term bet. A former IOC delegate even quipped recently to a European newspaper that Budapest or Rome might have been “a smoother ride” than this high-stakes gamble on Los Angeles.

With less than three years to go, the world is left asking: can Los Angeles really deliver a safe, well-run Olympics? Ask anyone in L.A. traffic right now, and you’ll likely get a shrug—or a laugh that says, “Good luck with that.”