SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, April 8, the city of Santa Monica announced on its website that they and the Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, or LA28, ended formal talks to host beach volleyball at Santa Monica State Beach for the 2028 Summer Olympics, following almost two years of negotiations.
As the birthplace of the modern sport, Santa Monica has been in discussions about hosting beach volleyball since Los Angeles’ first bid for the Olympic Games in 2016. Both parties were not able to agree to terms around community benefits, operational details and financial guarantees. LA28 informed the city on April 4 that it plans to host beach volleyball elsewhere.
Santa Monica will focus efforts on bringing a host of opportunities surrounding the Games as a regional partner. City teams are exploring ideas for related events and revenue-generating prospects, including hospitality houses for numerous countries, broadcast centers, practice venues and watch parties to name just a few opportunities.
The city remains committed to partnering with LA28 and neighboring agencies to coordinate the Games in the region, including collaboration and support around transportation, hospitality, media, events and more.
“There is no better place to host the Olympic beach volleyball competition than Santa Monica, where the sport was born. We would have loved to be a venue city in 2028,” said Mayor Lana Negrete. “While we’re disappointed that an agreement was not realized, we remain eager to share in the excitement the Olympics will bring to our region and are looking forward to being a regional partner in this historic event.”
Prior to the end of venue city negotiations, a team of city officials had been meeting with LA28 since early 2023 to finalize a Venue City Games Agreement.
Separate from negotiations around the beach volleyball venue, preparations for the major regional event have been moving forward through the city’s CELEBRATE28 initiative. The initiative brings together key groups of staff and community partners in areas of sustainability, transportation, arts, special events, community safety and hospitality to prepare for welcoming thousands of spectators still anticipated to visit Santa Monica during the games.
The city and its partners plan to coordinate and prepare to welcome visitors and engage locals throughout the Games, and are exploring additional revenue generating options in Santa Monica, including opportunities that could bring benefit to the community in advance of the Games.
The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games kick off in Los Angeles on July 14, 2028. For more details on LA28, visit www.la28.org. For more information on CELEBRATE28, visit www.santamonica.gov/topic-explainers/celebrate28.
By Trevor