Mayor Bass Becomes First Black Woman Mayor to Receive the Olympic Flag

Mayor Bass Becomes First Black Woman Mayor to Receive the Olympic Flag at the Closing Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Simone Biles, the most decorated Olympic gymnast in U.S. history, joins Mayor Bass in receiving the flag during the historic moment. 

PARIS, FRANCE – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tonight in Paris made history by becoming the first Black woman Mayor to ever receive the Olympic flag at a closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. During the ceremony, Mayor Bass received the flag as part of the handover ceremony from Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is the first woman to serve as Mayor of Paris. Team USA Gymnast Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history, joined Mayor Bass in receiving the flag during the historic moment. The Mayor will travel back to Los Angeles on Monday morning, bringing the Olympic flag back to L.A. as the next Host City of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

This week, the Mayor has also announced: 

• Delivering Critical Street Safety Provisions Near Schools: Hundreds of safety provisions near schools have been installed to make it safer for students to get to and from school. These installations follow action from the Mayor and City Council last year in response to tragic pedestrian deaths. 

• Bringing More Angelenos Inside: More than 30 unhoused Angelenos were brought inside with supportive services through Inside Safe response efforts in areas including South Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood.

• Connecting Angelenos With The Olympic Games: The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP) will host a series of live-streamed viewing parties of the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, France and offer sports activities for youth across the city. The PlayLA Youth and Adaptive Youth Sports Programs under RAP are bringing the excitement of the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to Los Angeles. PlayLA is the single largest commitment to youth sports development in California and serves as a legacy before, during and after the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

• What They’re Saying: Hollywood and entertainment leaders applauded Mayor Bass’ executive directive to renew city support for L.A.’s entertainment industry. 

• Helping House Vets: Following the direct advocacy of Mayor Bass and the United States Conference of Mayors to the federal government, a new policy change will make more veterans eligible for housing and increase their housing options. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a federal notice establishing policy changes that make it clear that veterans experiencing homelessness should not be disqualified from supportive housing based on their disability status. 

• Expanding Safety Programs: The Crisis and Incident Response through Community-led Engagement (CIRCLE) program is expanding its current Venice and Del Rey service area to also cover Oakwood, Mar Vista, Palms, Playa Vista, Playa Del Rey, Westchester, Manchester Square and Dockweiler Beach. CIRCLE provides services to help respond to calls involving unhoused individuals, including loitering, well-being checks, noise disturbances, substance abuse issues, and indecent exposure. The expansion will launch 24/7 service on Sunday, August 25th.

• Serving Communities All Across L.A: Mayor Bass announced the final weekend of Summer Night (SNL), a program that provides safe, family-friendly programming as a strategy to prevent violence in certain neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles, which has hired more than 600 Angelenos to support, and more than 80,000 residents and visitors have attended. SNL is part of a proven comprehensive strategy to reduce violent crime and improve health across the City. This summer, SNL has been in more than 40 sites across the City of Los Angeles on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm until August 10th.

• Supporting The Entertainment Industry: Mayor Bass issued her eighth executive directive to streamline and focus City department processes for local film and television production. Read what leaders across the entertainment industry said about the announcement here. 

The Olympic flag – one of the most recognizable symbols of the Olympic Games – was created for the Olympic Jubilee Congress in 1914 in Paris in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Olympic Movement. The interlocking rings were first drawn by Pierre de Coubertin – the founder of the modern Olympic Games – on a letter in July 1913. The Olympic symbol representing the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games has gone on to become one of the most recognized symbols in the world and the symbolic passing of the Olympic flag from one host city to another has become a key tradition at the closing of the Games.

Ensuring Angelenos benefit from the preparation and hosting of this major event, both now and for decades to come, is a top priority for the Mayor with a focus on helping local small businesses, creating local jobs and creating lasting environmental and transportation improvements throughout Los Angeles. During her trip to Paris for the Closing Ceremony, Mayor Bass focused on strategies to implement that will ensure Angelenos throughout the City benefit from the Games and examined logistics and communication strategies as crucial preparation to host the 2028 Games continue.

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