The start of 2025 was heartbreaking as the LA wildfires raged, causing significant damage and distress. A report from the Los Angeles Times claimed the damage to be around $350 million while quoting a city report. Everything is yet to return to normalcy. Given this tragedy, can we expect the California city to bounce back before it hosts the Olympic games in 2028? Well, the question remains unanswered as major stakeholders remain divided on the issue.

The number game claims that the City Committee will have to pay from its pockets if any additional need arises to host the game. However, will the committee have enough in its pocket to play host? A prominent stakeholder has come forward to shed some clarity on the issue.

A major stakeholder is positive about the future

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) broadcasts the LA Olympics in large parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the ownership makes the decades-old corporation a prime stakeholder in the LA 2028 edition of the contest, widely known as the Greatest Show on Earth. So, does WBD have any insider scoop regarding the event’s fate? Looks like it does indeed! Well, Scott Young has come forward to share the details. He is a group senior vice president of content, production, and business operations for WBD Sports Europe. On January 23, he admitted that WBD met with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to discuss the fate of the 2028 Olympic Games. 

In his interaction with The Athletic, Young said, “We have had conversations and there is no noise or discussion right now that it will have any impact on LA 2028.”. However, the people of Los Angeles are still reeling under the impact of the fires. The tragedy has also led to unsurmountable property damages. How could the WBD or the IOC say that the fires will not have any repercussions for the Olympics?

Young had a prompt answer. He said, “No infrastructure was significantly impacted, so they are not looking to rebuild anything that was required for the Olympic Games.” However, presently, this is far from being the primary concern of Warner Bros. Discovery or the IOC. They just want normalcy to prevail before anything else. “The priority now is around the people, rebuilding homes and the infrastructure that has been damaged,” he added. Young’s statements had sufficient truth in them. Reuters and NBC confirmed the structures are standing tall amid the fires. However, there are also people on the other end of the spectrum who are unsure about the 2028 Olympics’ fate.

What is the future of LA Olympics?

Two prominent voices came forward to express their opinions on this issue. The first one came from Johan Eliasch, the Olympic presidential candidate and head of the International Ski Federation. He needed climate readiness to be paramount for LA to be the Olympic host. “The lesson from this is that we need to make sure that [Olympics] organisers have the capacity and capabilities to deal with extreme weather events, because it’s not going to be less of it, it’s going to be more,” he told Sky Sports. Certainly, he highlighted the impact of the wildfires on the weather. And what about the other one? 

Charlie Kirk, the podcaster, didn’t sugarcoat his words. In the tête-à-tête with Fox host Jesse Watters, he stated, “The Los Angeles Olympics should be canceled. If you can’t fill a fire hydrant, you aren’t qualified to host the Olympics. Move them to Dallas or Miami so the world’s athletes can compete in a place capable of actually safely building and running something.” He equated the entire situation with “biblical-level destruction.” Well, what will happen, after all, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, what are your thoughts on the issue? Let us know in the comments below!