Los Angeles famously known as L.A, or the city of angels, is a city located in the southern part of the state of California, the USA. Its area is approximately 469 square miles. It has a population of 3,792,621 as calculated at the 2010 US census. It is also the second most populated city in the States, following New York City. It is the center of much bigger Santa Ana – Long Beach – Los Angeles- metropolitan area. They have a population of approximately 13 million and 18 million people proportionately. It is an extremely diverse county.
The people of Los Angeles are usually named Angelenos. The city, known for its innovative and enterprising nature, is a leading center of entertainment, international trade, business, culture, science, sports, education and media among other things. In fact, the city is referred to as the entertainment capital of the world.
History of Los Angeles
The history of Los Angeles begins with its occupancy by the Tongva and the Chumash, which are Native Americans. The greater part of southern California was later claimed for the Spanish Empire by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo in 1542. A bunch of settlers named Los Pabladores later established the village called La Reyna de Los Angeles in 1781 (Los Angeles, 2008).
In 1821, the pueblo already belonged to Mexico but retained its name. This was after New Spain became independent from the Spanish empire. Governor Pio Pico decreed Los Angeles the capital city of Alta California during the Mexican era. Their rule, however, came to an end after being defeated by the Americans in the America – Mexican war. The Americans then assumed control of California (Los Angeles, 2008). The railroad first arrived into Los Angeles in 1876, marking the completion of the Southern Pacific. Later in 1892, there was a major discovery of oil, which made California developed into the biggest oil producer in the U.S. by 1923, since it was credited for the production of about one fourth of the world’s petroleum output (Miller, 2008).
Los Angeles first hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932, an event that was marked with a lot of awe for the perfect planning and preparations that had been done prior to the event (Los Angeles (Calif.), 1984). Los Angeles has also successfully held the 1994 FIFA World Cup championship. The city is also recognized as the birthplace of the internet. The first transmission was made from the University of California to Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park. The second chance to hold the Summer Olympics came in 1984, proving that Los Angeles has the ability to successfully hold the event. This is the only city in the United States to have held the Summer Olympics twice (Angeles (Calif.), 1984).
Cultural Background of Los Angeles
The cultural identity is by and large drawn from performing arts. This has made Los Angeles to be termed as the Creative Capital of the world. The city, for example, houses Hollywood, which is globally recognized as the epicenter of the motion picture industry. This in turn has made the presence of artists, writers, actors, dancers, film makers and musicians in the city to be higher than any other profession (Los Angeles, 2008).
Los Angeles has 841 museums and galleries/ which is more than in any ither city of the world. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, for example, is among the grand art museums in the west of the United States. When it comes to religion, there are all kinds of faiths that are practiced in Los Angeles. This is due to the fact that it is an ethnically diverse city. Some of the faiths that have presence in Los Angeles include Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, Sikhism and Christianity among many others. The city is also one of the places in America that has a heavy presence of Jews, therefore making Judaism be one of the religions that are practiced in Los Angeles.
The Governance System in Los Angeles
The city of Los Angeles is governed by a mayoral council system. There are fifteen city council districts, whose officials are all elected. The office of the City Attorney and the City controller are also elective. Antonio Villaraigosa is serving as the current mayor with Carmen Trutanich and Wendy Greuel serving as the City Attorney and City Controller respectively.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has four Police agencies which specialize in different policing services. There is the Office of Public Safety which is within the General Services Department. It is mandated with the duty of ensuring maximum security and law enforcement services at city facilities. These include all city parks and libraries, the city hall, the Los Angeles Zoo and the convention centre among others. There is also the Airport Police which operates within all the Los Angeles owned airports. The other two special departments are the Port Police and the City Schools Police.
Economy of Los Angeles
Los Angeles has one of the most booming economies in the world. One of the most famous of our economic activities is the entertainment industry which includes television, music industry, motion pictures and video games among other things. The famous Hollywood is housed in the city. Other key economic activities in Los Angeles include international trade, technology, fashion, aerospace, petroleum, tourism, and apparel. The city is, thus, the leader of the western part of the US in manufacturing. The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles combined are among the top five busiest ports in the world. It is also one of the leading ports in the West, making it a vital element for trade in the Pacific Rim. The economy is further driven by other industries such as finance, law, telecommunications, media production, healthcare and transport industry.
According to the ranking of Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP), Los Angeles’ became the third biggest economic center on the planet. Besides, Los Angeles is the headquarters of several international companies, including seven of the Fortune 500 companies. Some of them are the Health Net, AECOM, the Reliance Steel and Aluminium, which is a leading metals distributor, the CBRE Group, which is a real estate company. Other companies include City National Bank, Fox Entertainment Group, Pabst brewing Company and United Online. This, we believe, makes the city economically capable of running the Olympics.
Transportation System in Los Angeles
The transport system of Los Angeles comes in terms of airways, seaways, freeways and transit systems. There is an extensive network of freeways and highways in the city. These include the Interstate 5 highway which connects L.A to San Diego; the Interstate 10 which is an interstate highway that connects coasts of Los Angeles and those of Florida. There is also the U.S Route 101 which connects the Californian central coast to the coasts of San Francisco, Redwood Empire, Washington and Oregon. City’s transit system is also well developed (Vogel, 2011). There is a broad system of bus lines and subways operating across the county. The city is also served by intercity passenger trains from Amtrak. The subway is ranked the ninth busiest, while the bus system ranks the second busiest in the country.
The greater Los Angeles metropolitan area has six major commercial airports. Los Angeles International Airport, which is the main airport in Los Angeles, ranks the sixth busiest airport in the world, and is among top three airports in the USA. The other airports include the Ontario International Airport, Long Beach Airport, John Wayne Airport and Bob Hope Airport.
Sea transporting is possible by the presence of the Los Angeles Port, which is also adjoined to the Port of Long Beach (Miller, 2008). They form the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor. The Los Angeles Port is also the biggest cruise ship center in the West of the USA. In 2009 alone, it transported around 800,000 people in total. There are also passenger ferry services provided by Catalina Express which connects the main land with Avalon City on Santa Catalina Island.
Sports and Recreational Environment
There is a number of sports and games that are practiced in Los Angeles. The city boasts of major teams. These include the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, which plays in the NHL, the Dodgers who play in the major baseball league, the Los Angeles Galaxy of the major League Soccer (Halle, 2003). The world of Basket Ball is also well represented by a number of teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers (men teams) and the Los Angeles Sparks (women team).
The city is endowed with a lot of various sports venues ranging from stadiums to sports and entertainment complex centers. The Forum, Los Angeles Coliseum and Dodger Stadium are just but some of the sports venues. The educational institutions are also well developed to handle any level of sporting activity (Vogel, 2011). The University of California and the University of Southern California are some of the examples.
Healthcare Systems in Los Angeles
Los Angeles boasts of one of the best healthcare services in the US. The health care is designed to provide every one with high quality, patient-centered and cost effective health services (Miller, 2008). Most of the health centers and hospitals operate on a seven days a week basis, 24 hours a day. The city is endowed with 313 healthcare facilities all of which are fully equipped for all kinds of emergencies and medical needs. Some of the services include Ambulance services.
Human Rights
Los Angeles, being a highly ethnically diverse city, is very sensitive to human rights issues. It is probably the only city in the world with a population of people from all walks of life. Today, the human rights society in Los Angeles is one of the most vocal and efficient.
Business and Industry in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is known for its enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit, thus, making it a major business, trade and cultural centre. It is generally described as the world’s creative capital. It has one of the busiest ports and airports in the world (Halle, 2003). Moreover, it is a major financial and banking center, the largest manufacturing center in the west and the largest retail market in the United States.
The Entertainment industry is the most popular given that Los Angeles is the home of the famous Hollywood (Rosner & Shropshire, 2011). The industry which comprises of film, television, motion pictures and music has led Los Angeles to being a major tourist destination. Statistics show that tourism alone is responsible for the employment of over 468,000 people in the greater Metropolitan area (Halle, 2003).
The manufacturing industry in Los Angeles, being the largest centre in the United States, specializes in the manufacture of apparel, computer and electronic products, fabricated metal products, furniture, food products and transportation products. Los Angeles follows Detroit in automobile production, with the industry being dominated by companies like Honda, Toyota, Volvo and Mazda among others (Zhu, 2006). The city is also among the leaders in the production of petroleum products and chemicals, rubber goods, pottery, ceramics and cement products. Los Angeles also leads in the world of banking and finance. This is evidenced in the presence of over 100 foreign and numerous domestic banks in the city. There is also the presence of many financial law firms and investment banks.
Volunteer Work
In order to make the 2024 Olympics a success, the projected 40,000 volunteers will be needed. The population of Los Angeles which is 3,792,621 people (2010 US Census) is well able to provide the human capital to run the summer Olympics. A website that will target individuals who are willing to help in the preparations will be created. From the experience of the previous Olympics that were hosted here, the government is confident that people will be positive about it and will respond in large numbers (Creason, 2010). People receive an opportunity to exercise their specializations, for example in training dancers and singers for the opening and closing ceremony. Everyone will be willing to be a part of this great world event. There is already a plan in place that will incorporate high school and college students to help in the voluntary work. This will help in championing for the involvement and participation of the youth in Olympic events.
Security during the Proposed Olympics
The security of Los Angeles is well managed by the police force, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). The Anti Terrorism Department will also beef up security so as to protect everyone from any terrorist attacks. Every sports venue will also be manned by the special agencies from the police department (Creason, 2010). The Office of Public Safety for example is mandated with the duty of ensuring maximum security and law enforcement services at the Los Angeles Convention Centre among others.
Accommodation for Athletes and Participants
Accommodation for athletes will be provided at the University of California. This is a public university that was founded in 1919 (Barber& Cooper, 2007). It is built on a 419 acre piece of land with its location in the Westwood neighborhood. It is 10 miles from downtown and just five miles from the beaches of Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean. This is where athletes will be provided with first class housing, food and entertainment facilities.
The central campus of the UCLA will also help in the accommodation of other participants of the Olympics. It is located in Los Angeles downtown Arts and Education Corridor. The campus, famously known as the University Park Campus was founded in 1880. For other visitors and tourists who will be attracted by the event, Los Angeles is endowed with numerous star rated hotels with world class services (Barber & Cooper, 2007). No one can ever lack a place not only to lay their heads but also find any kind of comfort that they might need.
Proposed Sports and Cultural Program
Some of the proposed include Athletics, Archery, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Bowling, Basketball, Baseball, Cycling (BMX, Mountain Bike, Road and Track), Canoe Sprint, Canoeing, Diving, Equestrian, Fencing, Football, Gymnastics ( Artistic and Rhythmic), Golf, Hockey, Handball, Judo, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Sailing, Shooting, Swimming, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Trampoline, Table Tennis, Trampoline, Loan Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo, Wrestling, Weight Lifting and Wind Surfing. There will also be cultural and arts festival from refined music, dance and theatre companies from different walks of life.
Proposed Venues
Owing to the fact that this proposed venue has hosted other international sports events including the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, it has some of the best sports centers in the world. A list of the venues that will best serve the purpose of every sports event proposed include; University of California, Los Angeles will be the Olympics village and athletics centre. The institution will also host the other events in its many facilities (Creason, 2010). These include Pauley Pavilion (volleyball and Gymnastics); Los Angeles Convention Centre (Roller Skating, Handball and Bocce) and the L.A Tennis Centre (Tennis and Table Tennis). The University of Southern California will also host a number of events in its facilities (Wenn & Schaus, 2007). They include Olympic Swim Stadium (diving, swimming and synchronized swimming).
Other institutions that will be used in hosting the events include Albert Gersen Pavilion, Loyola Marymount University (weightlifting), Eagle’s Nest Arena, California State University, Los Angeles (Judo), Olympic Velodrome in California State University, Dominguez Hills (track cycling), Weingart Stadium in East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park (field hockey) and the Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Pepperdine University, Malibu (Water Polo).
Other events will be held in other counties within California. These include Long Beach County which will host Archery in El Dorado Park, Fencing in Long Beach Convention Centre, Sailing in Long Beach shoreline Marina and Gymnastics in Long Beach Arena. Orange County will host the individual road race cycling in Mission Vienjo and modern Pentathlon in Coto de Caza.
Other proposed venues are the Forum in Inglewood (Basketball), Lake Casitas in Ventura County (Canoeing and Rowing), Santa Anita Park in Arcadia (Equestrian), Rose Bowl in Pasadena (Football), Olympic Shooting Range in Chino (shooting), Anaheim Convention Centre in Anaheim (Wrestling), Artesia Freeway (cycling), Heritage Park Aquatic Centre (Modern Pentathlon, swimming), Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Boxing), Los Angeles streets (marathon) and Dodger Stadium (Baseball).
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
The ceremonies will be held in the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This is the only facility in the history of the world that has hosted the Special Olympics of 1972, two other summer Olympic Games, the super Bowl and a Baseball world series (Post, 2007). The event will begin with a torch relay starting from New York City where some of the most renowned personalities in the history including Barrack Obama, the first African American President of the United States, will be involved. There shall also be a theme song contest so as to be able to come up with the best theme song for the summer event. Further, there shall be a chorale that will perform alongside the different artists during the opening and closing ceremonies.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we would like to present our bid for the 2024 summer Olympics. We believe that the city has the ability and the capacity to successfully hold the event without any hick-ups. We believe that we have the human capital both in terms of labor and expertise to that can enable us plan and make the event a success. Our economy also has the ability to sustain the event without anyone experiencing any kind of constraints. We also have world class infrastructure in terms of transport networks, venues and accommodation facilities that are most central in events of this nature and magnitude. Lastly, given that we have previously hosted two of these events, I believe that it gives us an upper hand with regard to experience, thus, making us a better choice.