Los Angeles has asked organizers of the 2028 Olympic Games to obtain $650 mn in event cancellation insurance and accept responsibility for losses above the policy limit if a disaster forces the Games to be canceled.
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo made the request in a letter to LA28, saying similar protection has been common at most Olympics since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Tokyo secured $650 mn of event cancellation insurance for the Games held in 2021, according to a report from Szabo’s office. Los Angeles officials are asking LA28 to obtain the same amount or the highest commercially reasonable limit available in the global insurance market. The city also wants LA28 to remain responsible for losses exceeding the insured amount.
LA28 said it continues to work with the city under its obligations in the Games Agreement, including sharing required insurance policies and discussing them with city officials.
The city and LA28 have already been discussing cancellation insurance for an Olympic venue in the San Fernando Valley scheduled to host three-on-three basketball, skateboarding and BMX cycling.
Szabo said a single risk management plan covering the Games in their entirety would make more sense than addressing venues separately.
The request comes as Los Angeles officials seek more financial disclosure from LA28. City Council members have asked the organizing committee to publicly identify contracts worth $1 mn or more, information missing from recent annual reports even though LA28 has shared contract details privately with city officials.
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said the lack of disclosure created a troubling picture and was putting pressure on the relationship between the city and Olympic organizers.
LA28 said the city had previously accepted its annual reports and only recently demanded public disclosure of the contract information. The organization said it was working through the requests and remained committed to meeting its obligations.
LA28 has also argued public disclosure of individual contracts would hurt its position in future negotiations with contractors, partners and sponsors.
Szabo’s office found nearly every Olympic organizing committee since Athens in 2004 purchased event cancellation insurance.
Estimated limits included $170 mn for Athens, $300 mn for Beijing, $400 mn for London, $1 bn for Rio de Janeiro and $650 mn for Tokyo. Paris was the exception, after insurance costs increased following losses associated with the postponed Tokyo Games.
Under the 2021 Games Agreement, Los Angeles has authority to request changes to LA28’s insurance arrangements. Szabo said LA28 has 30 days to respond in writing to the city’s request.
LA28: facts and figures
- Los Angeles will become only the third city to host the Summer Olympics three times, after staging the Games in 1932 and 1984. LA28 will also be the city’s first Paralympic Games.
- LA28 says it will be the first Games in 80 years to build no new permanent competition venues, relying instead on existing and temporary facilities across Southern California.
- More than 40 competition venues are planned for 36 Olympic and 23 Paralympic sports, covering over 800 events.
- The Olympic Opening Ceremony will be split between the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the stadium in Inglewood. The Games run from July 14 to July 30, 2028.
- The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will become the only stadium in history to host Olympic athletics competitions at three separate Games.
- The Inglewood stadium normally used for NFL games will be converted into a swimming venue with about 38,000 seats, making it the largest swimming venue in Olympic history.
- LA28 is reversing the traditional Olympic schedule: athletics will take place during the first week, while swimming moves to the second week.
- The first gold medal of the LA28 Olympics is scheduled to be awarded in the women’s triathlon at Venice Beach on July 15, 2028.
- Road cycling will use some of Los Angeles’ best-known locations. The road race is scheduled to start at Venice Beach and finish at Griffith Observatory.
- Changes to the original venue plan were projected by LA28 to generate about $156 mn in combined savings and additional revenue, partly by reducing temporary construction and using established stadiums.
- LA28 has committed $160 mn to youth sports programs across Los Angeles, which organizers describe as the largest investment in youth sports development in California.
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