Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Games). The LA County Department of Arts and Culture has been actively working to plan and prepare for the Games, especially the role of arts and culture.
Arts and culture have long been part of the Olympic Games and the values of the International Olympic Committee, with activities that take various forms, from Cultural Olympiads, cultural initiatives, arts festivals and activities, artworks, and programs before, during, and after the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Between now and 2028, the LA/Paris collaboration will foster projects featuring artists from both regions.
Explore the history of this innovative partnership, the LA County Board of Supervisors motions that frame the work, a historic Memorandum of Understanding, events including the 2024 Paris Cultural Olympiad Poster Competition, and local convenings for the arts and culture field below.
The 2024 Cultural Olympiad Poster Competition brings together students from art schools in both Paris and Los Angeles to showcase creativity, cooperation, Olympic themes, and civic engagement through art and graphic design.
The LA County Department of Arts and Culture has participated in the World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF) since 2013, representing the Los Angeles region alongside the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) at the City of LA. In 2017, WCCF launched a new Leadership Exchange Program, with funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Today, the Department of Arts and Culture, DCA, the City of Paris, and Seine Saint Denis are committed to engage in dialogue, learning, and sharing best practices, ideas, and models for arts and culture in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024 and 2028.
This work included a visit from a Parisian delegation to Los Angeles in March 2023, followed by the LA delegation's visit to Paris in June 2023, which explored the role of arts and culture strategies in neighborhoods; cultural equity and diversity; artistic infrastructure and cultural facilities and arts-based redevelopment; and social inclusion.
Explore the historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Cultural Olympic Cooperation among the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, the City of Paris, and Seine Saint Denis Department of Culture.
A new legacy of Cultural Olympiad collaborations celebrate the LA/Paris connection during 2024 Games. The projects provide an opportunity to engage artists in the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad, and test events and concepts to inform the development of cultural programs for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The projects include:
- 2024 Paris Cultural Olympiad Poster Competition
- FAMA (French American Mural Art) Mural Project
- Poetry Relay – Artistic Torch Pass of Poetry
- Make Music LA "Pulsations" City of LA
- Food Temple Culinary Festival
- Additional partnerships TBD
- Supervisors Mitchell and Solis ensure readiness for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games with a motion directing an economic impact and opportunity analysis of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the LA regional economy.
- Supervisors Horvath and Solis author a motion outlining the Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Olympic Cooperation Between the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, City of Paris, and Département de Seine-Saint-Denis to collaborate, share, and learn through artistic and cultural cooperation surrounding the 2024 and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- Supervisor Horvath’s motion directs cultural sector convenings in preparation for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- Supervisors Solis and Hahn’s motion directs County departments to uplift arts, culture, and recreation during the 2023, 2026, and 2027 World Cups and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.