LA’s Olympic gamble

Bass waving the Olympic flag alongside other officials during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. — Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

TEN years ago, Los Angeles officials brimmed with confidence as they urged the International Olympic Committee to award the city its third Summer Games.

“Follow the sun,” they said in their sunny 2015 bid, touting mild weather, a US$1bil Olympic Village, state-of-the-art public transport and a ready-made network of stadiums that would make it a car-free, cost-efficient Olympics.