Security Planning for 2028 Olympics

Lurie

Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus and Community Safety Steve Lurie spoke to a systemwide group of emeriti and retirees on April 29th concerning security planning for the 2028 Olympics. 

Some highlights are below. A link to a recording of his remarks is provided below the highlights.

As blog readers will surely know, Lurie was hired in the aftermath of the encampment. He was the LAPD individual in charge of the removal of the encampment with regard to the Olympics:

There will be about 17,000 athletes and related staff on campus. But there will not be competitive events. UCLA offers housing, training facilities, and medical facilities. Adding competitive events would have meant screening and protecting attendees, an excessive burden.

The Olympics are classified as National Security Special Events with the Secret Service ultimately in charge. Examples of other such events are the two political conventions and meeting of the UN General Assembly.

There will be police, military personnel (including military vehicles), and other personnel from various government agencies on campus.

Some areas of the campus will be completely off limits. Others will feature TSA-type screening. A list will be drawn up of UCLA employees who must be on campus. Others will work remotely. Those who must be on campus may be parking at remote lots and will use shuttle buses to come to campus.
Parking at UCLA will be reduced as spaces will be reserved for Olympic use. Traffic in the Westwood area is likely to be gridlocked. Cars entering the campus may be screened.

The medical enterprise will continue untouched - although there will be traffic effects.

Some lanes of local freeways may be reserved for Olympic use.

The Olympic period will run from late May to mid September. Academic calendars will be adjusted so there is no overlap.

There are concerns about cybersecurity which didn't exist when UCLA hosted the Olympic athletes and staff in 1984. (Or when the Olympics took place in LA in 1932!)

Starting in 2027, there will be communications to the UCLA community about what will be happening through town halls and other means.

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Note that there are concerns that will inevitably arise. If traffic around Westwood is gridlocked, how will ambulances get to the hospital? How will patients, some of whom are handicapped, get to medical appointments? Not all academic programs are on the standard calendar. For example, the law school normally operates on a semester system that begins in August. What happens to summer courses? What happens to public transit buses that normally come on campus? 

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You can hear AVC Lurie's remarks at the link below:

https://ia601506.us.archive.org/0/items/newsom-03-04-2026/UCLA%20VC%20Lurie%20on%20planning%20for%202028%20Olympics%204-29-2026.mp4.