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Santa Monica won't host Olympic beach volleyball
The City of Santa Monica will not host the beach volleyball event at the upcoming 2028 Olympics, after negotiations with the LA28 organizing committee fell through.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Santa Monica will not host the beach volleyball events during the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics, the city announced this week. Officials said negotiations broke down after years of negotiations.
Santa Monica won't host Olympic beach volleyball in 2028
What we know:
Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete made the announcement on social media on Tuesday.
Officials said LA28, the Games' organizing committee, informed the city of their decision on Friday, saying that it plans to host the event elsewhere. Negotiations broke down, Negrete said, over plans for community benefits, financial guarantees and logistics.
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What they're saying:
While Negrete said she was "disappointed" by the decision, she said she is "also relieved and excited because we now have clarity, and we can put an even greater focus on economic opportunities during the games that we wouldn't have been able to do if we hosted beach volleyball competition."
The mayor said the city is now focusing on potentially hosting athletes during the Games, establishing broadcast centers, hosting watch parties and more.
The other side:
In an email to FOX 11, LA28 did not comment specifically on the beach volleyball event, but said it would "be sharing updated venue assignments in the coming days."
2028 Olympic Games venues
The backstory:
LA28 has already announced two dozen venues for the upcoming Olympic Games, including Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, Intuit Dome in Inglewood, the Galen Center at the University of Southern California, and more.
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While most of the venues announced so far are in Southern California, at least two events so far — softball and canoe slalom — will be held in Oklahoma City.
Santa Monica officials said LA28 informed them that the beach volleyball events would be hosted elsewhere, but so far, LA28 has not announced alternative plans.
The full list of confirmed venues for the 2028 Olympics games can be found by clicking here.
The Source: Information in this story is from a press release on the City of Santa Monica's website, a video posted to Facebook by Santa Monica Mayor Lana Negrete and an email to FOX 11 from LA28.