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LA28’s rainy Paris rerun: Bass again accepts flag for LA’s next games, this time for paralympics

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DailyNews.com 
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PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 08: Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee, hands the Paralympic flag over to Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images for IPC)

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For the second time in as many months, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was in Paris to take part in a handoff ceremony to recognize L.A. as the host city of the next Summer Games in 2028.

Four weeks ago, Bass was handed the official Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. On Sunday, Sept. 8, she was back in Paris – this time to receive the Paralympic flag during the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games.

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Part of an Olympic themed display being worked on at Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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A summer sporting bonanza which started under pouring rain on July 26 with the remarkable opening ceremony on the Seine River ended at a rain-soaked Stade de France. It lowered the curtain on successful back-to-back events that captivated fans and raised the bar high for others to follow.

As the stadium was lit up in the blue, white and red colors of the French national flag, a trumpet player played the national anthem “La Marseillaise” and Paralympic flagbearers then made their way into the stadium carrying national flags to the sound of “Chariots of Fire” by Vangelis.

“Everyone can see what an inclusive world is like,” Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris Olympics in 2024, said in his closing speech. “Now there is no turning back.”

The International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said France excelled itself as a host in both Games.

“Paris 2024 has set a benchmark for all future Paralympic Games,” Parsons said. “For a country famous for its fashion and its food, France is now famous for its fans.”

Broadway star Ali Stroker, singer Anderson .Paak, jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker and violinist and composer Gaelynn Lea joined Team USA Paralympians and Los Angeles natives Samantha Bosco, Ezra Frech and Jamal Hill for the celebration.

The Paralympic flag was passed from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Team USA Paralympian Blake Leeper.

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PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 08: Athletes of Team United States enjoy the show during the closing ceremony on day eleven of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Stade de France on September 08, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

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Stroker is the first actor who uses a wheelchair to appear on a Broadway stage, and also the first to be nominated for and win a Tony Award.

“The Paralympic Games allow millions of people with disabilities to see themselves represented on the world’s biggest and most competitive stage in sports,” Stroker said last week. “I’ve had many incredible roles in my life, from Broadway performer to actor and author to disability advocate. Today, I’m thrilled to play a role in the Paralympic Movement, alongside LA28, and represent the United States with the national anthem at the Closing Ceremony. In this moment, my hope is to elevate the power of embracing your limitations by turning them into opportunities, just like the thousands of Paralympians representing their country at the Games.”

LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman called the handover “a historic moment, as Los Angeles prepares to host the city’s first-ever Paralympic Games,”

What’s next for the flags?

Bass will return to L.A. Monday afternoon with the Paralympic flag, marking another milestone in the countdown to the 2028 Summer Games – when L.A. will host the Olympics for the third time and the Paralympics for the very first time.

To help build excitement over the next four years, Bass, in coordination with LA28, the organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, will host community leaders and Olympic and Paralympic athletes during an invitation-only ceremony at City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 12.

The event will include an installation ceremony as the Olympic and Paralympic flags become part of an Olympics-themed exhibit outside the mayor’s office.

A summer of travels

Because Los Angeles will host the next Summer Games, a number of L.A. city and county elected officials traveled to France this spring and summer to learn how organizers there prepared for their Olympics.

In March, Bass, along with L.A. City Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilmembers Traci Park and Katy Yaroslavsky, were in Paris to observe how France was preparing to host the world’s biggest sporting event.

In August, Bass, Krekorian and Park returned to France. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and L.A. County Supervisors Lindsey Horvath, Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis also traveled to Paris last month for the Olympics.

A different group of L.A. city councilmembers then went to Paris for the Paralympic Games. This included Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Imelda Padilla, Curren Price and Yaroslavsky, according to the council president’s office.

Six of the seven L.A. city councilmembers who traveled to Paris currently sit on the council’s Olympics and Paralympic Games ad hoc committee. Harris-Dawson, who will take over as council president later this month, also previously served on that committee.

City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report