LA 2028’s compounding impact on surrounding homeless community
Art by Kayman Mangan
The Olympic Games bring together the world’s top athletes to compete in over 40 sports ranging from gymnastics to judo, normally held once every four years. The origins of the Olympics can be traced back to ancient Greece, where a sports contest was held in Olympia dating back to 776 BC. In the late 19th century, the Olympics were revived and governed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who are responsible for choosing the host cities, deciding what sports will be included and the overall organization of the event.
In 2017 the IOC’s evaluation commission granted Los Angeles to host the 2028 Olympics. LA has hosted two Olympics prior to this, the first one in 1932 and the second one in 1984. LA28, a private group organizing the games, has estimated a budget of $6.9 billion. Local citizens have already noticed the changes in the city with the biggest ones being the renovations to Los Angeles International Airport, the expansion of the Metro system and most significantly the “cleansing” of the homeless community.
Many people look forward to the Olympics as LA is one of the most famous and “beautiful” cities in the world. Popular films like La La Land and Barbie, feature iconic spots of LA. However, LA is deceiving in many ways due to the struggles with pollution, illegal activities and homeless encampments. Griffith Observatory is the setting of the most well known scene of La La Land where Mia and Sebastion dance during “A Lovely Night.” In reality, Griffith Park and the surrounding neighborhoods including Hollywood have seen an increase in homeless encampments. Similarly, in Barbie, Barbie and Ken are seen rollerblading around the pleasant Venice beach capturing one of LA’s biggest tourist spots. However, the reality of Venice beach contrasts with the film. The beach is infamous for its issues with theft, drug activity and pollution in the air, water and sand.
One of the biggest issues LA struggles with is the rising population of homeless people and encampments around the city. As of 2024, Los Angeles is dealing with the second largest homeless population in the United States with an estimate of 75,518 people living on the streets, which translates to an estimate of 18 homeless per every 1,000 residents. For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Los Angeles was given a budget of $12.8 billion. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass proposed that her spending plan calls for $950 million to fund homeless programs including $185 million for her program Inside Safe. However, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Authority, 28% of the people in the program have returned to homelessness.
Liane Sato is a former volleyball player, a two-time Olympian and currently is the Samo’s volleyball head coach. She competed in the 1988 and 1992 summer Olympics in Seoul and Barcelona. She discusses the impacts she's noticed on the homeless encampments in preparations for the LA Olympics.
“I have noticed recently that a lot of homeless encampments in the area, mostly in Venice and under the freeways, are cleared out, but they always seem to come back after a while,” Sato said.
Over two million people have been displaced by the Olympic games in the last two decades including the most recent Paris Olympics. In Paris, they prepared for the Olympics by driving out the homeless people. According to KSBW 8 news, hundreds of people were seen carrying backpacks and small children to board buses that were surrounded by armed police. This has raised many concerns for the LA homeless community in regards to where they will be displaced for the upcoming games and to what extent the city is willing to go to “cleanse” the city.