L.A. asks 2028 Olympics organizers to buy insurance in case disaster cancels the Games

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Set us as preferred Los Angeles has asked organizers of the 2028 Summer Olympics to take out a $650 million insurance policy, and agree to cover any potential losses above that amount, should the games be canceled by a calamity.City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo requested the enhanced risk management protection in a letter to a top LA28 official this week, noting that such protection has been the norm in most Olympics since the 2001 terrorist attack on the U.S.Event cancellation insurance protects Olympic hosts in the event that a natural disaster, terrorist threat, health emergency or other unforeseen event disrupts the quadrennial sports extravaganza.World Wars I and II forced the cancellation of the Olympics, and Tokyo postponed the 2020 Summer Olympics until 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.The Tokyo organizers estimated that they lost $3 billion since the pandemic severely limited the number of spectators allowed to gather for events, eviscerating ticket sales and sponsorhip revenue.

Tokyo had taken out a $650 million insurance policy on the games, according to a report by Szabo’s office.In response to the request, the Olympic organizing group LA28 released a statement saying it “continues to engage with the City pursuant to its obligations in the Games Agreement by sharing required insurance policies and engaging with City partners regarding those policies,” it said.The exchange came on a day that City Council members, responding to a story in The Times, said they wanted the Olympic organizing organization to disclose more of details of its finances — particularly contracts of $1 million and more.

LA28 has not listed those contracts in recent annual reports, which Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said Wednesday created a “troubling picture” and threatened the relationship between the city a...