Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hit the ground running in Paris, France, alongside a City Council delegation to spur small business growth and bolster global relationships ahead of the 2028 Olympics set to take center stage in the City of Angels. As Los Angeles gears up to host the international sporting spectacle, Mayor Bass is taking notes from the City of Light's preparations for the 2024 Games.
Hours after landing, the delegation wasted no time meeting with U.S. Ambassador to France Denise Campbell Bauer and other key officials for insights on political and economic strategies, the Mayor's office reported. Discussions also focused on safety and consular matters about the upcoming Games.
The agenda continued with a meeting at Paris City Hall where Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo shared her team's approach for the 2024 Olympics, providing potential lessons for L.A. on housing, green transportation, and infrastructure. "Today we took substantive and tangible steps toward preparing Los Angeles to host the 2028 Games in a way that will benefit Los Angeles in the years leading up to the Olympics and the decades following," Mayor Bass affirmed.
Further efforts to bolster the L.A. business landscape were made through a roundtable with over 20 French business bigwigs. They explored opportunities for French investment in the sprawling California metropolis, focusing on sectors like transportation and technology. Ambassador Bauer also hosted an event celebrating sport, diversity, and inclusion, which featured European guests and French athletes, citing Paris 2024’s milestone for gender parity in sports.
The L.A. delegation's trip is part of a broader strategy to learn from Paris' lead and draw business development insights applicable to the 2028 Games. The Mayor and her team will continue to rub elbows with French officials and business leaders till they wrap up the visit on March 10. Mayor Bass, with her rich background in international relations, is eyeing an official role at the Paris 2024 Closing Ceremonies alongside Mayor Hidalgo, a preview of when the Olympic torch will be passed to Los Angeles.
