Shaping the city’s identity
The Olympic Games Los Angeles 1932 played a significant role in crafting the modern image of the city as a carefree, glamorous destination where leisure, entertainment and sport are seamlessly intertwined.
In 2019, a staggering 50 million people travelled to Los Angeles, drawn to its many attractions: Hollywood, endless sunshine, and its reputation as a style and fashion hotspot.
Like the 1984 Olympic Games that came after, Los Angeles 1932 helped showcase the inimitable Californian lifestyle to the world. The organisers presented the city as a dazzling, vibrant metropolis where success was a story waiting to unfold, and fame seemed within reach. The city’s fashion industry, now a key driver of the local economy, also reaped the benefits of the world’s exposure to the Californian dream. The Games provided an opportunity to promote leisure and sportswear designs and, before long, brightly coloured swimming, tennis and golf attire found its way into wardrobes across the world.
A major part of the city’s appeal lies in the iconic palm trees that line its wide boulevards. Synonymous with paradise and escape, these non-native trees have become a classic feature of the LA landscape. Some 30,000 palms were planted in preparation for the city’s first Olympic Games with the intention of adding a touch of greenery to the LA sprawl. Over the years, they have come to represent what Los Angeles means to countless people worldwide, whose only connection to the city is through the films and TV series produced there.