The Los Angeles wildfire disaster has cast a shadow over preparations for the 2028 Olympics, raising questions over whether the city can deliver a safe and successful Games.
So far, none of the more than 80 venues due to stage Olympic competition in Los Angeles have been directly affected by the infernos that have left at least 24 people dead and reduced entire neighbourhoods to smouldering ruins.
But experts say the ongoing disaster has underscored the challenges of staging the world’s largest sporting event in a region increasingly under threat of wildfires.
“The situation is clearly grave and given the prospect of significant climate change, you do have to wonder whether the current situation might be repeated, possibly even during the Games,” Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School in Paris told British daily The iPaper.
“This raises very serious questions, not least about insurance, and whether Los Angeles’ big-ticket 2028 attraction might be about to become an uninsurable mega-event.”
