They had announced it as obvious, from the first to the last day of the application campaign: in the event of victory, they would be the champions of innovation. With just under eight years to go before the event, the organizers of the Los Angeles 2028 Games are keeping their word. They innovate. They surprise.
At this stage of preparation, still very embryonic, their taste for novelty is expressed through images. In Los Angeles, nothing very surprising. The Californian team unveiled Tuesday, September 1, the logo of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028. He revolutionized the genre.
At first glance, nothing very unexpected. The letters L and A in capitals, placed above the number 28, all overlooking the Olympic rings or the symbol of the Paralympic Games. Like Paris 2024, LA 28 has chosen a single logo for both events.
But Californian creativity manifests itself with the letter A. It appears successively in different forms and typographic versions. With this visual identity, Los Angeles 2028 not only created the first animated Olympic logo. Casey Wasserman and his team above all succeeded in symbolizing the vision of the event, built since day one on the notion of diversity and multiculturalism of the City of Angels.
« There is no one way to represent Los Angeles, explains Casey Wasserman, president of LA28. Each neighborhood, each block, each person has their own identity and their own history. The LA 2028 Games will showcase the collective creativity of our community and celebrate the diversity that makes us strong. »
Designed for the digital age, the logo is set to evolve. Today it has 26 different versions. They were drawn by as many American athletes, past, current or future Olympians, with the help of multimedia artists based in Los Angeles.
Among the first “signatories” of the visual identity, two actors of the Californian candidacy, the athletes Allyson Felix and Michael Johnson, but also the gymnast Gabby Douglas, the swimmer Simone Manuel, the football player Alex Morgan, the fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, Paralympic athletes Scout Bassett and Lex Gillette, and actress Reese Witherspoon.
Allyson Felix explains that she imagined her “A” with the idea of celebrating her three favorite teams, the Lakers for the NBA, the Dodgers for the MLB, and the Trojans from her university, USC (University of Southern California). “ The culture of sport and excellence I grew up with in Los Angeles, explains the six-time Olympic champion. I grew up being a Trojans fan, a Lakers fan, and a Dodgers fan"
Michael Johnson, 200m and 400m gold medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Games, wrapped his own “A” in just one color: gold. “ When I worked on my version of the logo, I tried to integrate the notion of concentration, he says. Today, when I think about the Olympic Games and my own journey and experience of the Games, what comes to mind first and foremost is the extreme focus I displayed to win the gold medals. »
Casey Wasserman makes no secret of it: the Los Angeles Games will not only be marked by diversity, they will also be ones of change. With one priority: to put an end to rule 50 of the Olympic Charter prohibiting athletes from demonstrating any political, racial or religious expression on the field.
The president of LA 28 explained this on Tuesday September 1 during the presentation of the logo: he wrote personally to Thomas Bach to ask him to soften the IOC's position on this rule.
« It is up to the athletes to initiate and lead the movement, but I urge President Bach to be both thoughtful and aggressive on this issue, insisted Casey Wasserman. Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter probably exists for a reason, but times are different today, and I think it needs adjustment. Anti-racist speech is not political speech. It is a political standard that we must all adopt in order to act. »
