The Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Friday honoured volunteers of the LA 1984 Games on the 33rd anniversary of the event’s Opening Ceremony. Organizers claim volunteerism for those Games is an important factor in Angelenos’ strong support to bring the Games back to the city for the third time.
The event honoring the volunteers was held at the LA Memorial Coliseum, the venue that host the Opening Ceremony in both 1932 and 1984, and is set to host Athletics events at the Games next decade.
Already over 12,000 volunteers have been recruited to help stage the next edition of the Games in Los Angeles that could occur in either 2024, or 2028. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to award both editions of the Games to Paris and LA at one time, and Thursday Mayor Eric Garcetti claimed that his city was most likely to accept the 2028 Games due to financial incentives being offered by the IOC.
LA 2024 CEO Gene Sykes said “It’s a thrill to be at the LA Coliseum celebrating the men and women who volunteered to make the 1984 Olympic Games such a resounding success.”
“The more than 30,000 volunteers of the LA 1984 Games set a tremendous and inspiring example for our bid committee.”
More than 200 LA 1984 volunteers were joined at the reunion by Olympic champions and LA 2024 Athletes’ Advisory Commission members Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci. Conner, who won two gymnastics golds at LA 1984, delivered the keynote speech thanking the volunteers for their contributions, and presided over the lighting of the Coliseum’s cauldron.
#LA2024 CEO @GeneSykes4, #LA84's @RenataAngeleno, Athletes’ Commission member @BartConner & Linda Forster celebrated LA84 volunteers! pic.twitter.com/rPbYJzv9DA
— LA28 (@LA28) July 28, 2017
He said “simply put, the Games cannot happen without the help of volunteers. They are the soul of the Games.”
The IOC will elect the 2024 and 2028 host cities September 13 in Lima, Peru. The 2028 host city will organize for 11 years, a record high for the Olympic Games.
