Goodbye World Cup, hello Olympics: Los Angeles races to prepare for its next major sporting event in 2028

Los Angeles is shifting focus from the FIFA World Cup to the Olympics in 2028, but the city’s infrastructure strain is already showing. On July 16, a water main rupture in West Hollywood triggered a sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and kept the street closed for 10 days. With preparations for the Games underway since 2017, officials face challenges tied to limited public transit, scarce hotel capacity, and high costs. During the World Cup, eight matches in the city drew more than 500,000 spectators, and fan zones added another 250,000, underscoring both capabilities and gaps. The city projects about five million visitors for the Olympics while homelessness data show the number of people living on streets rose again by 3.4% to over 45,000.