International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons Wednesday will begin a two-day tour of the 2028 Paralympic Village and venues for the 2028 Paralympic Games.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, LA 2028 Chairman Casey Wasserman and CEO Gene Sykes, and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block will join Parsons and the IPC delegation at UCLA, site of the 2028 Paralympic Village.
The IPC delegation, which also includes IPC Vice President Duane Kale and IPC Chief Executive Officer Xavier Gonzalez, will tour the campus and have lunch at a UCLA student dining hall.
The delegation will attend Wednesday evening’s Team USA Awards at UCLA’s Royce Hall, where Parsons will present the award for Female Paralympic Athlete of the Year.
On Thursday, the delegation will meet with Dr. Stephen Simon, executive director of Los Angeles’ Department on Disability, then tour Staples Center, the wheelchair basketball venue for the 2028 Paralympic Games, and the Microsoft Theater, which will host powerlifting.
The IPC delegation’s visit will conclude with a tour of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, LA 2028’s Paralympic track and field venue.
Parsons’ visit to Los Angeles will be the first since he was elected as IPC president in September. The Brazilian had been the organization’s vice president the past four years.
The Paralympic Games have taken place in the same venues as the Olympic Games since 1988, with the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games held approximately two weeks after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games.
“The IPC delegation will catch a glimpse of our accessible Paralympic Village and advanced sports presentation capabilities, right alongside the creativity of the entertainment industry and the passion of Angeleno fans,” said Casey Wasserman, chairman of LA 2028, the local organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic Games and 2028 Paralympic Games.
“We look forward to putting our city’s unique strengths at the service of growing the Paralympic Movement over the next 11 years.”
—City News Service