Sportswashing and the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics

Politics and power in the city of angels

Bibliographic Data

ID22430258
AuthorsJules Boykoff (0000-0002-6313-0684, Pacific University, corresponding author), Cerianne Robertson (0000-0002-9686-9258, Fordham University), Kylie Mari Gose Pascual (Pacific University)
Year2026
Pages1-27
Publication date2026-04-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Sport Policy and Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1940-6940 • E-ISSN: 1940-6959
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19406940.2026.2662216
OpenAlexW7155787140
LanguageEN
References cited36

Sportswashing is a political phenomenon whereby leaders and governments attempt to leverage sport to their advantage. Sport affords political entities an opportunity to legitimise and empower themselves on the global stage, while simultaneously fomenting nationalism and deflecting domestic attention away from ingrained social and human-rights concerns. In the twenty-first century, sportswashers running the spectrum from authoritarian regimes to liberal democracies have attempted to use sports mega-events to convey prestige, whether political, economic, or cultural. While autocratic sportswashers have experienced substantial discursive and political attention, both in academia and the general public, sportswashing in the democratic context has yet to be fully excavated. This article, an examination of the City of Los Angeles as it prepares to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, aims to fill that void. In it, we identify the sportswashing dynamics in play as well as key stakeholders, the policies they have proffered, and the political-economic machinations that thrum beneath the surface. In an age of intense political polarisation in the United States, sportswashing ahead of the LA 2028 Games is a bi-partisan affair.

Politics · Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society

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