{"id":916019,"date":"2026-07-06T09:21:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/916019\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T09:21:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T09:21:23","slug":"los-angeles-turns-most-polluting-world-cup-into-olympic-rehearsal-in-bid-for-climate-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/916019\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles turns ‘most polluting’ World Cup into Olympic rehearsal in bid for climate legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was originally published by Clean Energy Wire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A pungent smell clouds the stadium where the U.S. men\u2019s football team is set to play its first World Cup match. With 30 days to go before kick-off, the venue\u2019s operations team is busy transforming the playing field into a world-class soccer stadium, the freshly laid soil covered in fertilizer ahead of the arrival of refrigerated trucks with special grass the following day.<\/p>\n

Tending to the playing surface is one small task in the job of delivering a seamless event in Los Angeles, one of 16 cities hosting the most popular sporting event in the world this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Compared to other host cities, the stakes are particularly high in L.A., which hopes to use this year\u2019s World Cup \u2014 and next year\u2019s Super Bowl \u2014 as a dry run for the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, coming to the city two years later.<\/p>\n

\"\"A freshly fertilized pitch on an overcast day in Los Angeles.
Carolina Kyllmann \/ CLEW<\/p>\n

This is the start of L.A.\u2019s mega-sporting-event era, and while the eight World Cup matches unfolding at the SoFi Stadium pale in comparison to the size of the Olympics, they provide a good starting point to stress-test\u00a0security strategies<\/a>,\u00a0mobility protocols<\/a>, and\u00a0heat wave response plans<\/a>. The traffic-laden city, with its stressed budget, wants to know what an influx of fans does to its infrastructure,\\ and hopes its mega-event preparations somehow pay long-term dividends.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here to deliver a lasting legacy,\u201d Paul Krekorian, who heads L.A. Mayor Karen Bass\u2019 Office of Major Events tells council members at a City Hall meeting in May. He reminds them that the city bid for the sporting events not just for the honor of hosting them, but to ensure that they delivered a lasting benefit for the people of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Yet current preparations highlight existing tensions: for Los Angeles, this year\u2019s World Cup is set against a backdrop of\u00a0weak hotel bookings<\/a>,\u00a0high ticket prices<\/a>, and a\u00a0growing budget deficit<\/a>. The city also faces\u00a0an urgent need to rebuild<\/a>\u00a0what burned down in the devastating January 2025 wildfires \u2014 the unprecedented scale of which scientists have linked to global warming \u2014 with tens of thousands of residents still displaced. Meanwhile, fears that ICE immigration officers struck into the hearts of residents when they\u00a0raided<\/a>\u00a0the multicultural city a year ago, where a quarter of the large immigrant community\u00a0is undocumented<\/a>, are still very much alive.<\/p>\n

Fans, workers at highest risk from overheating<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vast majority of people at risk are not the athletes themselves, but rather the spectators \u2014 who are generally much less acclimatized\u00a0\u2014 and other groups such as service staff at sales points or in catering,\u201d sports sociologist Sven Schneider said. \u201cThese risk groups require particular protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traveling around L.A.,\u00a0oceans of concrete<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0limited shade or greenery<\/a>\u00a0make clear that fans are exposed to heat long before matches start, racking up hours under the sun as they wait in line for shuttles to venues and stand in long queues to get into stadiums. Just days before the World Cup kick-off, FIFA placed a\u00a0blanket ban<\/a>\u00a0on fans bringing sealed, transparent water bottles into matches \u2014 and\u00a0quickly backtracked<\/a>\u00a0following backlash.<\/p>\n

A month before, on an overcast day typical of springtime in L.A., Otto Benedict, who heads operations at SoFi Stadium (rebranded the Los Angeles stadium for the World Cup), explained how his team is well versed with local climate risks, sardonically looking upward to say that some fans might even show up underdressed for a cooler \u201cMay gray\u201d or \u201cJune gloom\u201d day.<\/p>\n

\"PeopleThe first subway train arrives at the freshly innagurated Wilshire\/Fairfax station.
Carolina Kyllmann \/ CLEW<\/p>\n

Regardless, he said they are ready. \u201cWe have cooling fans and cooling zones that we deploy if it\u2019s a hot day,\u201d he said, adding that he is constantly in touch with the National Weather Service, and that thermometers inside the stadium coupled with metrics from previous events inform their action plans. \u201cWe are sharing with FIFA what our response protocol is, and then learning from them what they need us to be able to do.\u201d Heat response protocols differ across host cities, based on local risk assessments.<\/p>\n

While heat waves are unusual at this time of year,\u00a0record-breaking ocean temperatures<\/a>\u00a0are bucking the trend, said climate scientist Daniel Swain. \u201cIn the coastal parts of L.A. County, the prevalence of truly extreme heat is lower than in other parts of the country and other parts of the world,\u201d he explains.\u00a0\u201cOn the other hand, not all of the infrastructure is therefore designed for it, so when it does occur it can be very disruptive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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US host cities made transit improvements a World Cup goooooooal<\/a><\/p>\n

The $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium is the exception. Partly surrounded by greenery, it\u00a0is designed<\/a>\u00a0to use the natural environment to create a comfortable experience. On hot days, Benedict\u2019s team can open roof panels to create an updraft and cool the stadium\u2019s interior, which is not air-conditioned.\u00a0On rainy days, the roof funnels water to a catchment system. That rainwater, after being treated, is used to irrigate the native plants surrounding the venue, which in turn provide shade and cooling.<\/p>\n

Yet one does not need to travel far to see a different story. The city of Inglewood, home to the stadium, has a\u00a0tree canopy cover<\/a>\u00a0of 9 percent \u2014 when recommended canopy cover goals stand at around 30 percent. Temporary systems to spray mist, water dispensers, and sun awnings dispatched for the World Cup at key locations can only do so much when up against the demands of\u00a0a climate-stressed county<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sporting events entice users to try out public transport for the first time<\/p>\n

L.A. Metro hopes that sporting events will give people a reason to experience public transit, maybe for the first time, and that a good ride can destigmatize the experience in a city where just over 3 percent of commutes are\u00a0completed<\/a>\u00a0by public transit, according to 2024 American Community Survey data.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are planning with legacy in mind,\u201d said CEO Stephanie Wiggins at the edge of the SoFi Stadium pitch as airplanes roared overhead. \u201cWe\u2019ve been rolling up our sleeves to figure out how to make this as seamless as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

L.A. Metro has added multilingual signs to stations, introduced contactless payments on its buses, and consolidated eight apps into one platform for planning, paying, and receiving live information and service alerts. These are changes that both international visitors and commuters will notice.<\/p>\n

Most notably, the agency\u00a0inaugurated<\/a>\u00a0three new underground stops in May \u2014 just in time for the World Cup \u2014 having worked on the extension\u00a0for over six decades<\/a>. In June, fans used the D Line to reach watch parties and Fan Zones. Come August, unlike the match-day shuttles, the stations will continue to serve residents.<\/p>\n

\"AMost bus stops across L.A. County are not shelterd.
Carolina Kyllmann \/ CLEW<\/p>\n

Officials estimate that around 78,000 people will use the D Line every day, serving one of the U.S.\u2019s densest corridors. As May drew to a close, L.A. Metro saw its\u00a0highest ridership numbers<\/a>\u00a0in six years. The plan is to open six more stations by 2028, connecting the UCLA dorms, which will serve as the Olympic Village, with downtown L.A.<\/p>\n

L.A. Metro is drawing from its history: Ridership numbers reached new heights in 1984 when the city last hosted the Olympics. \u201cWe know that global events can mean an opportunity,\u201d Wiggins added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the World Cup, L.A. Metro is\u00a0providing<\/a>\u00a0free water at hydration stations in key locations, and during four days at the end of June it transformed L.A.\u2019s main railway hub into a Fan Zone.\u00a0Union Station came to life in a way it has not in years. \u201cOur Fan Zone gave people a reason to arrive early, stay longer, and see Union Station differently,\u201d\u00a0reflected<\/a>\u00a0Wiggins in a Substack post. \u201cWhen we make the system easier and safer to use, when we create places people want to be, and when we give riders a reason to choose transit for more than their daily commute, they respond.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The World Cup is one wildfire away from an air quality disaster<\/a><\/p>\n

Time will tell whether ridership numbers continue to climb beyond the mega events. The backbone of L.A. Metro\u2019s system is made up of buses. The agency serves around 12,000 bus stops a day, accounting for around three quarters of journeys \u2014 and the infrastructure leaves much to be desired.<\/p>\n

Most bus stops\u00a0are unsheltered<\/a>, leaving riders under the sun, clueless as to how long without live departure boards or timetables in sight. The Sidewalk and Transit Amenities Program is currently upgrading stops, and\u00a0has installed<\/a>\u00a0403 shelters \u2014 yet departure screens are\u00a0often out of service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LA faces multiple tests as it counts down to Olympics<\/p>\n

A few weeks in Los Angeles makes clear that authorities, agencies, and businesses struggle to work beyond the immediate tasks in their jurisdiction. L.A. Metro does not own bus stops; local authorities do. Transport experts say that local politicians are not motivated to invest in shelters, as they fear the homeless population would take them over. While the bus system will take you anywhere in L.A., riders accumulate hours under the sun transferring between lines, often accompanied by the city\u2019s large homeless population \u2014 a reminder of the challenges the city faces as it readies to welcome the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

L.A.\u2019s acute housing crisis and strained budgets mean not everyone is convinced that the time and money invested in delivering a party for the world will pay off for the local residents. A few days before kick-off, workers at SoFi Stadium\u00a0threatened to strike<\/a>\u00a0and street vendors\u00a0weighed<\/a>\u00a0match-day profits against their personal safety.<\/p>\n

Halfway through the tournament, L.A.\u2019s streets buzzed with life and there were plenty of signs of solidarity and camaraderie, with residents coming together to celebrate, wrote local journalist Alissa Walker in\u00a0her dispatches<\/a>. Yet celebrations were also\u00a0obscured by toxic air<\/a>\u00a0stemming from a\u00a0large warehouse fire<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AL.A. Metro\u2019s CEO Stephanie Wiggins answers reporter\u2019s questions with 30 days to go before the World Cup kick-off.
Carolina Kyllmann \/ CLEW<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s wounds run deeper than last month\u2019s smoke:\u00a0Many residents are still reeling from last year\u2019s wildfires, which\u00a0ravaged<\/a>\u00a0entire neighborhoods in Altadena and Pacific Palisades \u2014 the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history. Air pollution reached toxic levels; pollutants\u00a0still linger<\/a>\u00a0long after the fires have been extinguished.<\/p>\n

Against the backdrop of a national administration\u00a0focused on advancing fossil fuels<\/a>, comparatively green California faces much pressure. Los Angeles published its\u00a0Climate Action plan<\/a>\u00a0in April, with an entire section dedicated to using major sports events to accelerate \u201cclimate investments that extend well beyond the closing ceremonies.\u201d The plan commits the city to net zero by 2045, 100 percent clean energy by 2035, and to host a \u201ctransit-first\u201d Olympic games, which should upgrade mobility options in underserved neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Yet those working to make L.A. County more climate-resilient are unconvinced by the level of ambition or the speed of progress. Following the wildfires, L.A. Mayor Bass\u00a0dropped the requirement<\/a>\u00a0to build new homes without fossil fuel-powered systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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How FIFA\u2019s climate solution has turned into \u2018water-gate\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe people and the trauma make this all very complicated quite honestly, but it was an opportunity to truly do things in a way that is more sustainable and the region chose not to,\u201d said Cassie Rauser, who heads the advocacy group TreePeople, which educates, plants, and cares for trees across Southern California.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt remains to be seen what the wildfire\u2019s lasting impacts are,\u201d said L.A. Metro\u2019s Wiggins, grief palpable in her voice as she recalled her own employees\u2019 devastation and shock at losing their homes. Regaining her usual confidence, she said that the wildfires showed how important it is to have good infrastructure and good transit: \u201cWe were relied on during those fires.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether L.A.\u2019s mega-event era will benefit the people of Los Angeles in the long run is a question that hangs thick in the air. It is exactly the kind of resilience that is deeply woven into the every day that L.A. will have to build more of for its mega-event investments to have a long-term legacy. The countdown until the Olympics opening ceremony marks two years and two weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was originally published by Clean Energy Wire. A pungent smell clouds the stadium where the U.S.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":916020,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,17749,6370,2961,224,5337,315497,522],"class_list":["post-916019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-cities","tag-extreme-heat","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-syndicated","tag-transportation"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116872302162944067","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}