Staging Heritage: Policy Lessons from Global Cultural Events for the 2028 LA Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are much more than sporting events. They are also powerful stages for cities to represent themselves through arts and culture.

In the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics, the Staging Heritage project considers how culture is presented and how cities can prepare for and contribute to the cultural dimensions of major sporting events. Our research, carried out in 2025-26, focused on four case studies: LA 1984, London 2012, Paris 2024, and Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup, and drew on official evaluations, government and organizing-committee reports, institutional documentation, published scholarship, and interviews with organizers, practitioners, and cultural experts.

The reports on this page draw on historical and policy analysis to inform cultural strategies for LA 2028. Our reports are intended to be useful for those planning and supporting cultural experiences, exhibitions and activations around the LA28 Games, including cultural institutions, museums, community and neighborhood groups, and public agencies.

Authors:

Professor Tawny Paul, Director, LCHP
Anaghime Esmeralda Ziani, Director of International Heritage Development, Qatar Museums and LCHP Fellow (2025-26)
Research assistance provided by Pilar Taylor and Chloe Zheng