The Olympic flag officially touched down in its new home city on Monday as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, 60 athletes and city leaders returned from Paris to the City of Angels. On board the Delta flight to LA was NBC4’s Colleen Williams, who shares her unique experience in returning home with the flag as the city looks forward to 2028.
After stepping out of the plane once it landed at LAX, Bass proudly waved the Olympic flag as a mark of what’s to come. LA is hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics and is preparing for the international event.
“When the plane landed, to see all these Angelenos here, all excited about the Games, this is what we need,” Bass said. “We have the flag now. It’s on us. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Williams said before they touched down, the flag was unfurled across the back row of the specially designed plane for all on board to see. Eventually, it was secured in a special box that’s marked with several Olympic city emblems.
“I think it’s real. I mean, I think having the flag on board with us, knowing that there’s no more, ‘Oh, well Paris is first,’ it’s us and we’re next and the days are going to go quick and the opening ceremony in LA is going to be here before we know it,” said Casey Wasserman, Chairman of LA 2028.
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is set to become the first venue in history to host the track and field competitions and the opening ceremony in three Olympic Games. Camilla Rambaldi reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, August 12, 2024.
During the long flight from France back to the States, several athletes shared their enthusiasm with Williams about the Games returning to the U.S. Rugby player Alev Kalter even happily shared her bronze medal with the NBC4 anchor, allowing her to try it on, herself.
“This flight is amazing. I mean, we heard from the mayor, we heard from some amazing people and we’re just so excited to be taking this flag that got passed from Simone Biles to the mayor to Tom Cruise, back to LA,” Kelter said. “It’s obviously a dream to play on home soil and it starts tonight. It starts today.”
