LA Mayor Karen Bass makes history at closing ceremony of Paris Olympics

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Mayor Karen Bass received the official Olympic flag from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo Sunday as Los Angeles takes the baton from Paris and begins the four-year countdown to the 2028 Summer Games.

Bass received the flag during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, making history as the first ever Black woman mayor to do so.

Bass noted the historic nature ahead of the ceremony.

"Mayor Hidalgo is the first woman to serve as Mayor of Paris and being the first woman to serve as Mayor of Los Angeles, we know that tomorrow, as Casey described, we will be sharing a historic moment as I received the flag from her," Bass said Saturday. "And when we do that exchanging of the flag, we will be sending a message to girls all across the world that they can do anything. They can run for the gold, and they can run for office, or hopefully they'll do both!"



The mayor landed in Paris on Thursday, part of a contingent that also includes LA28 President Casey Wasserman, City Councilman President Paul Krekorian, Councilwoman Traci Park and City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo. The U.S. delegation also included first lady Jill Biden, California Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, and Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson.

Bass is expected to return to Los Angeles on Monday with the flag. Upon her arrival at LAX at about 2 p.m., she will host a news conference to showcase the flag and highlights of her trip.

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