It remains one of the more striking moments in Olympic history: a star-spangled rocket man hovering over the Los Angeles Coliseum at the opening ceremony in 1984, heralding a new era of commercialism and pizzazz. And although history is unlikely to precisely repeat when the Games return in five years’ time, it will rhyme: LA 2028 plans to go big and brash again.
That was made even more evident on Monday when the LA bid team confirmed the Guardian’s exclusive that five new sports – cricket, flag football, baseball/softball, lacrosse and squash – would be proposed for 2028. Most observers had expected just two to get in, given the pressures they would put on the International Olympic Committee’s quota of 10,500 athletes. Ultimately, though, both sides understood the benefits of a compromise – and saw the dollar signs stretch out from Hollywood Boulevard to Madison Avenue.
