Lawmakers Press LA28 on Cultural Olympiad Funding With Less Than Two Years Until the Games

Los Angeles has less than two years until the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Lawmakers still can't get a straight answer on a basic question: how much money will the Cultural Olympiad have, and when will artists see it?

That was the focus of a joint hearing of the state Senate's Special Committee on International Sporting Events and the Legislature's Joint Committee on the Arts, held at the California Science Center. Sen. Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica) chairs both committees and convened it. About 100 city and county officials, LA28 Cultural Olympiad leaders and arts advocates attended.

Eleven years to plan

Los Angeles was awarded the Games in September 2017. That gave the city nearly 11 years to prepare.

Zev Yaroslavsky, the former county supervisor who now directs the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs, said the cultural planning didn't get mobilized early enough. "I'm not trying to point a finger here, but it just didn't happen," he told lawmakers.

He said the delay has a cost. Major artists book engagements years ahead, which limits what organizers can arrange now. "So that's the kind of thing that we lose," Yaroslavsky said.

He did not call the effort doomed. "That doesn't mean that the Cultural Olympiad is a flop," he said. He pointed to the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival as a catalyst for the region's cultural growth. "It allowed us to think much bigger," he said.

The Paris benchmark

Paris 2024 ran more than 2,500 cultural projects over three years. Los Angeles arts groups and neighboring cities are commissioning work and planning neighborhood celebrations. The hearing showed a patchwork of efforts rather than one coordinated program, with municipalities and organizations waiting on clearer coordination and financial commitments.

Sofia Klatzker, Santa Monica's cultural affairs manager, said local governments and nonprofits stopped waiting. "The urgency to share what our local communities can expect has been pressing, and many local cities and nonprofits could no longer wait for outside direction," she said.

Santa Monica has proposed its own framework, "Land and Water Here and Now." It covers performances, exhibitions, public art and international cultural exchanges.

The money

A September report from City Administrative Officer Matthew W. Szabo and Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon M. Tso puts LA28's Olympic and Paralympic Games budget at $7.263 billion. The hearing did not produce a public figure for what share goes to culture.

The Los Angeles Times and City Controller Kenneth Mejia have asked LA28 for more financial data. The organizers say they have already disclosed enough. The two sides have not resolved that disagreement.

Taxpayers have a stake because the city is a party to the Games. Elected officials are asking where the money comes from and where it goes. LA28 is not required to answer to a legislative committee, so these hearings carry no enforcement power.

City Council wants its own report

The City Council voted 13-0 to request a status report on Cultural Olympiad planning within 60 days. The motion came from Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who introduced it Aug. 4.

Rodriguez asked for a program that reflects the "extraordinary diversity of Los Angeles" and offers "equitable opportunities for participation by artists, cultural organizations, and communities throughout the city." Her motion also says programming should reach neighborhoods "not solely within Olympic competition venues or major tourist destinations."

In a separate 13-0 vote, the council ordered a review of how the city handled World Cup watch parties and fan festivals. The motion came from Rodriguez and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. City officials and the Department of Recreation and Parks must report attendance estimates, locations and participating departments.

The review is also to cover public safety and crowd management, traffic, ADA compliance, multilingual outreach, local business activity and permitting. It also calls for "an assessment of all city costs or reimbursements associated with the events."

The motion said the Games are expected to bring about 15,000 athletes, "millions of spectators and billions of viewers worldwide," which makes coordinated planning "critical to the city's success."

The council also told the Department of Recreation and Parks to report on possible subsidies to keep the PlayLA Youth Sports Partnership going after the Games. The partnership with the LA28 Organizing Committee runs youth sports programs. It also directed the chief administrative officer to prepare instructions for an expenditure tied to the Youth Sport Partnership Agreement.

What comes next

The council's 60-day Cultural Olympiad report is the next concrete deadline. It is the first formal chance for the public to see what the city knows about the program's funding and structure.

LA28 has not publicly committed to a dollar figure or a date for when Cultural Olympiad money will reach artists and communities.