The Los Angeles bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games this week revealed it will leverage events, campaigns and existing legacy in the the city to further solidify a combined message of inclusive spirit, diversity, creativity, optimism and cultural legacy.
On Tuesday LA 2024 welcomed the release of a short film from the the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board’s Discover Los Angeles campaign that demonstrates the city’s diversity, and as a welcoming destination.
The minute-and-a-half film “Paper Planes” is part of a global initiative promoting the city as a tourism destination and LA 2024 says it reinforces why Los Angeles is the right host for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Last year, Los Angeles welcomed 47.3 million visitors in a sixth consecutive year of record-breaking tourism.
The film uses the visual metaphor of paper planes in patterns representing countries around the world “flying” into Los Angeles. Set to the soundtrack of Los Angeles-based recording artist Father John Misty’s song, “Real Love Baby,” the film takes viewers on a journey through the streets and shores of Los Angeles.
The film features cameos of famed street art by Shepard Fairey; Madonna’s choreographer Megan Lawson and dancer, Jo’Artis Ratti (Big Mijo); and, Layla Shaikley, creator of the #mipsterz (Muslim hipsters) trend. Some of the cast in the video are Angelenos who were chosen off the streets of L.A. in real-time, a statement by the tourism board said.
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said “Discover LA’s new film shows why the City of Angels has broken tourism records for six straight years: in LA, you can see the world on our streets, with 18 million diverse Angelenos ready to warmly welcome all visitors.”
On Monday the bid announced that along with the LA84 Foundation, an organization that manages and grows the ongoing legacy of LA’s 1984 Olympic Games, it will promote the Festival of Books on April 22-23 at the USC Campus.
Together, the organizations will bring Olympians, authors, prizes and Sam the Eagle – the 1984 Games mascot – to the free public event.
According to LA 2024, Festival appearances will be made by:
- Julie Foudy– Two-time Olympic Gold Medal Winning Soccer Player and forthcoming author of “Choose to Matter: Being Courageously and Fabulously YOU”
- Donna De Varona– 2-Time Olympic Gold Medal Winning Swimmer and author of “More Than a Game: One Woman’s Fight for Gender Equity in sport”
- John Naber– Olympic Gold Medal Winning Swimmer and author of “Awaken the Olympian Within: Stories from America’s Greatest Olympic Motivators”
- Olga Connolly– Olympic Gold Medal Winning Discus Thrower and author of “The Rings of Destiny”
- Shirley Babashoff- 8-time Olympic Medal Winning Swimmer and coauthor of “Making Waves: My Journey to Winning Olympic Gold and Defeating the East German Doping Program”
- Gary Visconti- Former Olympic Figure Skater and author of “Falling For The Win”
- Cindy Whitehead– Author of “It’s Not about Pretty: A Book about Radical Skater Girls”
- Molly Schiot– Author of “Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History”
- George Hirthler– Author of “The Idealist: The story of Baron Pierre de Coubertin”
- David Davis– Author of “One Golden Moment: The 1984 Olympics Through the Photographic Lens of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner”
- Chris Epting– Coauthor of “Making Waves: My Journey to Winning Olympic Gold and Defeating the East German Doping Program”
- Sam the Eagle– Beloved mascot of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games
“LA84’s partnership with LA 2024 at the Festival of Books is another great example of our #PlayingForward the Olympic spirit that inspires us all,” said Renata Simril, the LA84 Foundation’s President and CEO.
“Most everyone knows the impact that the LA84 Foundation makes in changing the lives of youth through sports. But not everyone knows what historians, researchers, journalists and students are aware – that LA84 is also the steward of one of the largest sport heritage, Olympic memorabilia and digital sport history collections in the world.”
Wasserman said “the festival-like atmosphere on USC’s campus will be a preview of the excitement that the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games would bring to our community. That’s why we at LA 2024 are so passionate about bringing the Games back to LA for a third time – the Games have the power to bring our city together and inspire the next generation.”
LA, along with Paris, are bidding to host the Games for a third time in 2024. The winning city will be elected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) September 13 in Lima, Peru.
