Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other city officials were busy during their trip to Paris this week, learning how their French counterparts are preparing for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Paris is set to host the 2024 Olympics, which begin on Friday, July 26.
KTLA 5’s Sandra Mitchell has been following Mayor Bass on her trip, getting insight into what officials are learning about L.A. can do to set the stage for the Olympics.
Mayor Bass met with local officials, stopped by businesses and toured Olympic facilities during her four-day trip to France. According to Mitchell, she attended multiple meetings each day from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.
On Saturday, officials donned hard hats and safety vests as they ventured to the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis to tour the Olympic Village, which is still under construction.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass meets with French officials at the Olympic Village in Saint-Denis, France on Mar. 9, 2024. (KTLA) 
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass meets with French officials at the Olympic Village in Saint-Denis, France on Mar. 9, 2024. (KTLA) 
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass attends a badminton match in Paris, France on Mar. 9, 2024. (KTLA)
Another stop that Mayor Bass and city officials made was the newly opened Adidas Arena, where they watched a professional badminton match.
While on tour with officials, Mayor Bass remarked that she would be attending the games and that she was even planning on dropping in on Team USA.
“I am very confident that when Team USA is here, they will be safe, they will be treated well, and we will look forward to coming and visiting them,” Bass said. “The other thing is, we talked about partnerships that we could have, especially on the cultural side, and we learned that there is already an existing partnership between [Paris] and Oakland…so now of course we are going to expand that to include Los Angeles.”
Mayor Bass’ office also announced on Saturday morning that she had signed an agreement with the Mayor of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, Karim Bouamrane, to “formalize collaborating on shared priorities for youth, the environment, sports and culture.”
The 2028 Summer Olympic Games begin on July 14, 2028. It will be the first time the Sumer Olympics are held in the U.S. since 1996, when Atlanta served as the host city.
