LA will host Olympics watch parties. Here’s where they might be

A highlight of L.A.’s World Cup summer was the free watch parties: city-sponsored events where more than 45,000 Angelenos watched soccer matches on big screens in their local parks.

City officials want to bring those local gatherings back for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and they're beginning to map out how they’ll look and feel.

At a city council committee meeting on the Olympics earlier this month, city staff laid out a plan to host at least one site in each council district. They also said L.A. will need dedicated staff, security and as many as 2,000 volunteers to put them on.

Paul Krekorian, head of the city’s major events office and former council president, told the council the city would also need to invest in shade structures to keep people cool in the summer heat.

“In many of our parks, there isn't a lot of shade to begin with,” Krekorian said, reflecting on the World Cup watch parties. “[In] many of our parks, these screens were sited on asphalt or other places where it was exceptionally hot.”

At the council’s direction, city staff has identified potential watch-party locations in the 15 city council districts.

Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson indicated that the council would likely want even more.

“ The size of our districts are too big, and the topography — and even demographics — are too different to just have one in most districts,” he said.

The big outstanding question is the price tag. So far, no city funds have been allocated to the watch parties. Each one will need screens, portable toilets, lighting and other amenities.

“ It will be a very expensive program; there's no doubt about it,” said John Wickham of the Chief Legislative Analyst’s office, who presented on the plans at a city council committee meeting on the Olympics earlier this month.

Wickham suggested sponsorships could help reduce the price tag of the events for the city — but a city report notes that private organizing committee LA28 has the right to sponsorship deals around the 2028 Games.

According to that report, compiled by the city’s chief budget adviser and legislative analyst, the city’s Olympic watch parties will require substantial funding in L.A.’s next two budget cycles.