LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, is putting a distinctive twist on the traditional Olympic logo by unveiling a wide-ranging series of emblems for the Games.
The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic logo contains a basic template of a black L, 2 and 8 with an ever-changing A symbol in order to reflect the City’s diversity and maintain a continued sense of cultural relevance in the eight-year build-up to the showpiece event.
Initially, 26 athletes, artistes and celebrities have created their personal LA 2028 emblems – all of which will be used depending on circumstance and platform – with more to be added in the coming years, including likely some from the general public.
Among those whose logos have been revealed include track and field star Michael Johnson, gymnast Gabby Douglas, sprinter Allyson Felix, swimmer Simone Manuel, women’s soccer player Alex Morgan, fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, Paralympic track and field athletes Scout Bassett and
Lex Gillette, and actor Reese Witherspoon.
Many of those contributors, by design, are particularly popular with key target demographics of millennials and Generation Z.
LA28 executives said the impetus to develop a dynamic emblem treatment, nearly two years in development, came in large from the nature of the Southern California market itself.
“How do you tell just one story about Los Angeles, particularly when it’s the sum of all of its many, beautiful parts?” said Kathy Carter, LA28 Chief Revenue Officer.
“So we made the move to embrace that diversity, and this becomes a way where we can continue to tell the story of Los Angeles, and people can use this to develop their own story,” Carter added.
Because of the dynamic nature of the emblem, LA 28 will not be locked into a single image during the lengthy, eight-year run-up to the Games, and will remain flexible to incorporate emerging cultural trends.
The organizing committee is also developing several measures by which fans can submit their own emblem proposals, as well as customize LA28 merchandise.
“It’s less of a Games mark and more of a cultural mark, frankly. And it’s a means to continue our storytelling,” Carter remarked.
The new emblem treatment succeeds a soaring angel logo the organizing committee initially used in its efforts to secure the 2024 Summer Olympics before ultimately landing the 2028 games in the IOC’s historic double-awarding three years ago with Paris staging the 2024 sporting spectacle.
Casey Wasserman, LA28 Chairperson, observed, “There’s not one way to represent Los Angeles, and there is strength in our diverse cultures. We have to represent the creativity and imagination of Los Angeles, the diversity of our community and the big dreams the Olympic and Paralympic Games provide.”
“We struggled for a while with this tension between traditional emblems in all of sports, which are static, and LA, which is a dynamic, changing City. When you ask people what Los Angeles represents, you’ll get a lot of answers,” he added.
Helping guide the emblem development process were LA28 Chief Marketing Officer Amy Gleeson, along with designers from numerous creative partners including Nike, Works Collective, Stink Studios, Media Monks, Cashmere Agency, and Giant Spoon.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approves of the unique design process.
“The emblem perfectly represents the City’s energy, creativity and strong sense of community, while also celebrating the Olympic belief of unity in diversity,” said LA28 Coordination Commission Chair Nicole Hoevertsz.
“LA28 continues to create innovative ways to engage Angelenos and people from across the world in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The idea behind the emblem, and the expressions we have seen so far, truly demonstrate that we are stronger together,” Hoevertsz added.
Carter said convincing the IOC – which historically has a more traditional outlook – of the need for the dynamic emblem was “definitely not as difficult as one might think”.
“It’s certainly a departure, but as we went through our approach with the IOC and why, they were totally supportive of this,” she added.
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