By Rory Carroll
LONG BEACH, California (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 are set to showcase Long Beach, the vibrant coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County with a rich sports and cultural history, that will host 11 events.
Beach volleyball, water polo, sailing and sport climbing are among the popular competitions that will take place in “the LBC,” and Los Angeles Mayor Rex Richardson said the city is ready for its moment in the global spotlight.
“Long Beach is a great American city, and many folks may not know about it,” Richardson told Reuters.
“It’s an opportunity to really come out of the shadows a bit. We’re a top 40 city in the United States by population. We’re larger than Miami. We’re larger than St. Louis and New Orleans.
“We are home to the largest port in the United States at the combined sea ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and we have a great, iconic coastline with the Queen Mary and the beautiful nine miles of California coast.”
Long Beach is likely familiar to music lovers around the world due to its frequent mention in the songs of hip-hop legend and Team USA hype man Snoop Dogg as well as 90s ska-punk pioneers Sublime.
The city has also punched above its weight when it comes to producing sports stars.
Tennis icon Billie Jean King, three-time Olympic beach volleyball champion Misty May-Treanor and 2012 Olympic gold medalist and NBA star Russell Westbrook all hail from the city.
Long Beach’s Woodrow Wilson High School has had an alumni represented in every Summer Games the U.S. has participated in since 1952, and is believed to have produced more Olympians than any other high school in the country.
Long Beach State University meanwhile has consistently churned out Olympic volleyball, swimming and water polo standouts.
THE LBC
The 2028 Games will mark the third time Long Beach has played a part in an Olympics.
Marine Stadium was originally built to stage rowing events at the 1932 Games and will do so again nearly a century later with rowing and canoe sprint taking place at the first-ever manmade rowing course.
Sailing will be held off Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier in Belmont Shore as the city’s waterfront once again hosts the event after also doing so in 1984, the last time LA hosted the Games.
Hosting large-scale events is nothing new to the city, Richardson said.
The Long Beach Grand Prix, the city’s beloved “200-mile-per-hour beach party,” drew over 200,000 attendees for its 50th anniversary last month in the shadow of the Long Beach Convention Center and Long Beach Arena, which will both be utilized in 2028.
The 60th edition of the popular Congressional Cup regatta was held off Veteran Memorial Pier last weekend in Long Beach’s signature sea breeze.
“These are iconic, historic, world-class venues, and we can’t wait to put them on display for the entire world,” Richardson said while overlooking the vast expanse of soft white sand that will comprise the beach volleyball courts.
Olympic organizers LA28 have clustered venues together across the sprawling Los Angeles region and Richardson said fans will have options when it comes to how they move between the six Olympic venues in Long Beach.
“You can Circuit,” he said, referring to the city’s free electric vehicle service.
“Or walk or scooter or bike across all the venues on our nine miles of coastline.
“And while they’re there, they’ll see the investments that we made into our beach, into our coastline, some of the best beach concessions in America where you can have a hot dog or you can have a tomahawk steak and a martini.
“That’s the experience that we’ve put together and developed here in Long Beach, and we can’t wait to show it to the world.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Long Beach; Editing by Michael Perry)
