City of Long Beach Announces Additional Preparations for 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games

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PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA - During his 2025 State of the City Address held on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, Mayor Rex Richardson announced additional plans regarding the City of Long Beach's involvement in the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Announcements included the introduction of the City's Strategic Roadmap, which will serve as a blueprint for Long Beach's planning and implementation of its roles and responsibilities as a major Venue City for the 2028 Games, and the unveiling of a dedicated webpage at longbeach.gov/2028Games that will serve as a central communications hub for Long Beach's involvement.

"Long Beach is ready to shine bright on the world stage as a major Venue City for the 2028 Games," said Mayor Rex Richardson. "Our Strategic Roadmap will guide us in creating an unforgettable experience for athletes and spectators alike, while also leaving a lasting legacy for our community, and our webpage will keep folks informed and involved along the way."

Long Beach is set to host seven sporting events across five venues citywide, with more events expected to be confirmed, solidifying its position as the largest participating Venue City and the leading host of sporting events outside of the host City of Los Angeles. In an effort to prepare for the City's role as a major Venue City and to facilitate the City's objectives to advance equity and long-term legacy through its participation in the 2028 Games, City staff worked with KPMG consulting to develop a Strategic Roadmap.

The Strategic Roadmap intends to advance three core principles - equity and inclusion, public safety, and legacy activities - through the City's planning efforts to uplift small businesses; arts, culture and tourism; and youth engagement during and after the 2028 Games. The Strategic Roadmap will be used to ensure a safe, world-class experience for athletes and attendees, represent Long Beach on a global stage, and provide a platform to nurture the local community. It includes opportunities for community input, enabling residents to help shape the Games' legacy, and highlights key considerations, opportunities and milestones for the City as discussions continue with LA28 and other Olympic and Paralympic partners. The Roadmap additionally outlines the establishment of the Long Beach Olympics Legacy Foundation, a legacy fund that will leverage existing philanthropic resources and community input to sustain initiatives in youth sports and arts and culture programming well beyond 2028.

Inviting the community to get involved in these efforts is an integral part of Long Beach's commitments to the Games. The first opportunity to be announced is the establishment of Community Advisory Groups in the areas of public-private partnerships, programming opportunities and community engagement that will focus on advancing legacy impacts on youth sports, arts and culture, and business development. The groups will serve in an advisory capacity to the City Manager and City staff to ensure the diverse perspectives of the Long Beach community shape the long-term legacy of the Games. The four Community Advisory Groups and their honorary co-chairs, consisting of 17 local leaders and stakeholders, who will work alongside City staff to co-lead these groups include:

• Arts and Culture: Sharon Diggs-Jackson, Julia Huang, Ron Nelson, Griselda Suarez
• Small Businesses: Blair Cohn, John Morris, Luis Navarro, Vivian Shimoyama
• Workforce and Economic Inclusion: Jill Baker, Mike Munoz, Susana Sngiem, Yvonne Wheeler
• Youth Sports: Tony Azevedo, Mike Fillipow, Mike Guardabascio, LaTonya Sheffield, Bobby Smitheran

Long Beach is also unveiling its dedicated webpage for the 2028 Games, now available at longbeach.gov/2028Games, created to keep the community informed and up to date on Long Beach's involvement in the Games. The webpage currently features an interactive venue map that will be updated with details of the sporting events to be held in Long Beach, as well as the complete Strategic Roadmap, information about the City's vision for the Games, community impacts, latest news, contractual commitments, a sign up form to stay connected, and updated community FAQs available in English, Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog, among other details. Down the road it will also feature upcoming opportunities for community members to get involved including future community meetings, volunteer opportunities and other engagement opportunities like the Community Advisory Groups.

Hosted by the City of Los Angeles, the 2028 Games will take place July 14 through Aug. 27, 2028. More information about the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games is available at LA28.org. Media inquiries regarding the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games may be directed to [email protected].

About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000 people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture, and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, the award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.

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