Olympic leaders are “very confident and relaxed” about collaborating with the incoming Trump administration ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach said Thursday.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has highlighted his role in securing the Games for LA in 2017, despite a failed meeting with an Olympic delegation, including Bach, during his campaign.
However, the two men could meet again as soon as Saturday in Paris, which will host the 2024 Olympics, originally bid for by LA.
Trump is traveling to the French capital for ceremonies this weekend to reopen Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was devastated by fire five years ago.
Bach is also invited to return to the Olympic host city, where he has excellent relations with French President Emmanuel Macron, who formally opened the Summer Games on July 26.
President Trump is expected to fulfill a similar role at the LA Olympics’ opening ceremony on July 14, 2028, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Though the LA Olympics are privately funded and organized, federal government guarantees and funding are needed for security, as well as visas to ensure athletes, coaches, and officials from 206 national teams, plus a refugee team, can enter the U.S. to train and compete.
Bach said Thursday that responsibility for “taking early contact with the incoming team” of the Trump administration lies with officials from the LA organizing committee and leaders of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
“We are very confident there with regard to the steps and efforts being undertaken,” Bach said at a news conference after an executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee. “We also saw that President-elect Trump repeatedly declared his support for the Games, which we never had any doubt about because he has declared this support from the very beginning.”
On Wednesday, Trump announced he had appointed Monica Crowley as his representative for “major U.S.-hosted events,” including the LA Olympics and the 2026 World Cup in men’s football.
Trump will be invited by FIFA as head of state to present the trophy to the winning captain at the World Cup final. That game will be held on July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium near New York City.