The Olympic flag arrived in Los Angeles on Monday, marking the city’s upcoming role as host of the 2028 Summer Games.
The flag was delivered on a Delta Airlines jet adorned with “LA28” and palm trees, and was accompanied by American athletes and officials. As the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, Tupac Shakur’s “California Love” blared from the speakers on the tarmac.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, clad in a red Team USA tracksuit, exited the plane, proudly waving the Olympic flag before descending the air-stairs to be welcomed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Olympic diver Delaney Schnell, skateboarder Tate Carew, and other notable figures joined the mayor in the reception.
Bass said at the airport that she felt a “tremendous pride and responsibility” in being given the Olympic Flag in Paris on Sunday. While Los Angeles has been putting in the work to host a great Games, the mayor said American organizers now really felt the “need to put our foot on the gas.”
The International Olympic Committee awarded Los Angeles the right in 2017 to host the 2028 Games. It will be the third time LA has hosted the Games in the modern era, after being the host city in 1932 and 1984.
Bass acknowledged Paris had set a high bar as an Olympic host, and that LA’s homelessness problem would be a challenge to overcome. But the City of Angels has one world-class asset that nobody else can claim: “We do have Hollywood, so I expect a lot of magical opportunities,” she told Reuters in Paris.
Olympic officials in Paris handed the flag to their American counterparts on Sunday during the closing ceremony. Actor Tom Cruise provided a dose of Hollywood flare in Paris, as he rappelled from the roof of France’s national stadium to receive the flag.
Cruise’s exit from Paris’ closing ceremony on a motorbike saw it transition to a pre-recorded video of the 62-year-old skydiving down to the Hollywood sign, where a wide shot showed the Olympic rings incorporated into the LA landmark.