2028 La Olympics Super Early Discussion

[Ms Motts]

LA's great. I think the Olympics will make the city less hospitable. I'd definitely visit for a gymnastics nationals or worlds in SoCal.

My limited experience (Sydney) is that Olympics temporarily (and in some ways permanently, if the city plans well) make a city more hospitable, not less. Everything is optimised so that the city runs as smoothly as it is possible for it to run, and the excited, welcoming vibe is contagious, even to people who are total NIMBY Olympic grinches up until it starts.

I was a public servant at the time, and a lot was done behind the scenes to make the Olympics work. School terms were adjusted so there wouldn’t be anyone on the roads doing the school run/sports run, and my office was close to an official venue, so to make life easier for both us, and the venue-goers, we were offered a choice of redeployment to ‘Olympic Volunteer’ (but at our regular wages) or redeployment to an alternative work site. These days it’d be voluntary work from home I imagine.

 

[MaryClare]

My limited experience (Sydney) is that Olympics temporarily (and in some ways permanently, if the city plans well) make a city more hospitable, not less. Everything is optimised so that the city runs as smoothly as it is possible for it to run, and the excited, welcoming vibe is contagious, even to people who are total NIMBY Olympic grinches up until it starts.

I was a public servant at the time, and a lot was done behind the scenes to make the Olympics work. School terms were adjusted so there wouldn’t be anyone on the roads doing the school run/sports run, and my office was close to an official venue, so to make life easier for both us, and the venue-goers, we were offered a choice of redeployment to ‘Olympic Volunteer’ (but at our regular wages) or redeployment to an alternative work site. These days it’d be voluntary work from home I imagine.

This was exactly my experience too, living in London in 2012. Companies were encouraged to have people work from home, long before it was a “thing”. The atmosphere in the city was amazing and nearly everyone said they wished we could do it again, despite there being a lot of scepticism about the cost and the organisation leading up to the games.