First up, 10x shout-outs to City Limits and all who’ve contributed over the years (not least, our fantastic editorial team of Phoebe Trimingham and Jen Robinson). Right now, we hit issue 10 of our ongoing exploration of the ever changing urban experience. We’ll properly celebrate that elsewhere. Here, though, it’s all about Los Angeles, that place of endless possibilities.

It’s the first time we’ve put the City Limits focus on just one city. Our reasoning for this is strong: this issue is about what it means when the big sporting shebangs of the Olympics and World Cup roll into the self-proclaimed Entertainment Capital Of The World.

What impact will they have? Can they provoke change positively, enduringly, within communities as much as on the commercial landscape? What can other cities learn from all of this? What’s the meaningful intersection for brands here? Decoding event logos, mapping where sporting magic happened, experiential highs and lows, a Future Of Sport survey – we feature it all.

Sport + cities is dream material for us. So much potential to inspire and to improve lives. But much that needs working at to get to more equitable outcomes. If you’d like to find out more about our work in this space – across placemaking, brand and positioning, comms development, product and experience innovation and far, far beyond, we’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, on your marks, get set and get reading.

Andy Crysell, CEO and Founder

As one of the World Cup cities and hosting the Olympics, LA could win big on diversity, sustainability and cultural impact

It’s well established that hosting a world sport event comes with a lot of risk – from financial to reputational – and that is why fewer cities are wanting to do it. Simply put: what city feels robust and unimpeachable enough to invite a spotlight that will light up its darkest corners? And yet, Los Angeles is now standing in that glare, as it plays host to two major world sporting events over the next five years…

These sporting events could provide instead something quite remarkable: a cultural rebranding. Less about looking outward to the rest of the world. Rather of peace building among Los Angelenos – and even the US as a whole (sports events ignite ambition and optimism). Of showing LA as a city that gives voice to all its diverse ethnic groups.

As this FIFA statement promises, it can “deliver one of the most diverse cities in America to support the promotion of human rights, and environmental sustainability.” Los Angeles is seen as this progressive hub of America. With the 2028 Olympics it is also signalling to the world what hosting a sustainable, morally sound sporting event looks like: reusing existing infrastructure; coding diversity and championing inclusivity (eg LA28 branding visualizes the individual and diverse stories of Los Angeles’ citizens).

Meanwhile, former Mayor, Eric Garcetti, has said repeatedly that the city can “end street homelessness” by the time the Games come to town (the how is still unclear).

And it’s coming out fighting on those logistical minefields. The city is boldly batting away criticisms, and presenting Los Angeles as a city that is uniquely able to take on the 2028 Summer Olympics and men’s soccer 2026 World Cup. Los Angeles could be different: it has a history of holding game-changing Olympics and can make use of existing facilities and stadiums for both events. With corporate sponsorships, ticket sales, merchandising and other sources, LA28 forecast a balanced budget on the Games.

Confidence is high. “Every other city is an apple and we’re an orange,” says Garcetti, a bullish stance supported by 57 percent of Angelenos who believe the Games will be good for LA (Suffolk University/LA Times, 2023). One thing is for sure, LA is being bold, and that’s exciting. But being this beacon of progressiveness also tends to upset middle America. Signal too loud and you risk furthering the American divide. Luckily, nothing unites a country quite like sport, and there is a chance that middle America will look at their progressive sibling with pride. And that seems a winning reason to bother right there.

When it comes to the Olympics, it’s not the taking part that counts

Reputation 1968, Mexico City

The first to be hosted by a Latin American country. To shake its reputation as a dangerous country – slogan: “Everything is possible with peace.”

Transformation 1964, Tokyo

The first Asian host of the Games, marking an end to pariah status since a crushing World War Two defeat.

Power 1980, Moscow

The first Olympics to be held in a communist country, the US did not compete.

Globalize 2008, Beijing

A chance for the nation’s government to make a splashy announcement that China is a global leader on par with anyplace else.

Showcase 2032, Brisbane

Australia will welcome the games for the third time, and give name recognition to Brisbane, one of its growing cities.

Our semiotic analysis of event design reveals the action off the field

Five ways brands have tried to authentically integrate into cities for a big event

Getting an authentic foothold in city culture during an event often involves the quietest move. Brands best succeed when they can ‘be there’ without actually being there in any tried and tested way like stunt advertising, sponsorships or promotional activations.

Whether the city is hosting the Olympics, World Cup, South By Southwest, or a stop on the Formula 1 circuit, what makes the biggest impact is deciding to contribute to the wider culture, not just the brand: to give back to the city’s community over a significant time, or offer a service that aligns with the event’s values.

In these five examples, we can see how standing out at a city event actually looks like stepping back and taking on a supporting role. But, by doing so, these brands successfully integrated into more than a one off spectacle, and instead into the culture of the cities through meaningful connection, finding out and supporting what the city needs, and how to properly get it to the people who live in them.

Grass Roots, Long Game Nike, Olympic Games, LA

In the run up to the 2028 LA Olympics, Nike has smartly stepped in with the venerable LA84 Foundation to launch LA Made To Play Neighborhoods in Boyle Heights and Watts, specifically to help Latino and Black girls living in low income households to get active with a three-year, $1.3 billion programme. Thanks to a sneakers brand, a Boyle Heights resident could be atop the podium in Olympic games to come, and that’s the kind of grassroots story Nike excels at being part of.

Local Advocacy Burger King, Gay Pride 2014, San Francisco

Acknowledging that a city can be synonymous with an identity, Burger King didn’t roll out their ‘Proud Whopper’ across the States, they sold it at a single San Francisco Burger King restaurant to coincide with the city’s Gay Pride Parade. Its success went way beyond one restaurant, one Gay Pride event, and one smart idea – it quickly became the number one trending topic after a video was released on social media. It showed that if you get the culture right, even in a metropolis, impact isn’t a numbers or volume game.

Addressing Concerns Uber, Mardi Gras 2015, Sydney

These days the biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations have ad campaigns that roll out as frequently as parade floats. But Uber’s campaign in Sydney aimed at releasing some of that tension with ‘Mardi Cars’, offering free rides during the festival. The offer was praised for genuinely listening to, and directly answering, some of the LGBTQ+ community’s unfortunately all-too-common concerns – getting home safely, avoiding hate-crimes, travelling after dark. Uber arrived at both destinations: both supporting the activism of the event as well as its own commercial interests.

Blanket Coverage Orange Mobile, Clubbing 2002, Ibiza Town

It’s worth remembering that if you can aim and shoot a bullseye on a culture that is right for your brand, go for it, and own it. We saw this in the early noughties, when Orange mobile became inextricably linked with entertainment due to painting Ibiza Town Orange, sponsoring its most infamous club Manumission, beach towels, pop up bars… it was a blunt force, but for young people experiencing entertainment culture at the same time as early smartphone take-up, it was an authentic collision of culture, place, and brand.

Backing A Side Jubel, World Cup 2022, UK cities

Sometimes a city is problematic, as any of the locations for the Qatar World Cup more than showed to be the case. On this occasion an alcohol brand who aims to serve up uncomplicated fun turned the focus away from controversies, and toward how people experience the culture of a game in their own cities. Disruptive newcomer, Jubel, the fruity beer brand, ran a simplistic campaign for every time Jude Bellingham scores, you can get a free pint.

And finally…

Don’t make promises you won’t want to keep, McDonalds, LA Olympics, 1984

In the 1984 LA Olympics, McDonald’s offered a Big Mac, Coke or fries every time the US landed atop the podium. The US had a successful Olympics – in no small part because the Cold War had led to their main competitors the Soviet Union not attending – and some McDonald’s outlets ran out of burgers…

The Future Of Sport

Trend forecasting is not about predicting hard and fast futures – especially when looking as far ahead as five years and the LA Olympics. But in place of a crystal ball, we researched fast moving trends that are hinting at how sport will respond to macro changes around Inclusion, Equity & Diversity, Sustainability, Performance & Success, Game Play and Fandom for Crowd DNA and Researchbods to use as a roadmap to conduct The Future Of Sport Survey.

Inclusion, Equity & Diversity

66% of Americans agree that sport promotes diversity

90% of Americans agree it’s important to improve the representation of minority groups within sporting organizations and bodies

43% of Americans agree that the sports industry values all athletes equally (regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, disability)

96% of Americans agree it’s important to make everyone feel welcome within the sports community

50% half of Americans agree that sportswashing is a problem

96% of Americans agree it’s important to make sports accessible to everyone

Sustainability 

87% of Americans feel it is important to reduce the carbon footprint of sporting events and experiences

37% of Americans feel the transparency from sporting organizations and events around global issues such as their sustainable impact will improve in the next five years

Performance & Success

68% of Americans agree that the mental wellbeing of athletes is more important than their performance

96% of Americans agree it’s important that new technology is developed to protect the physical wellbeing of athletes

51% of Americans agree that biohacking will become more prevalent in sports

How will protest, Gen Alpha and reframed performance play out in 2023 and beyond… ?

Game Play 

20% of sports fans would consider watching esports in the future

72% of Americans agree that athletes achievements are rooted in their story off the field, not just what they do on the field

98% of Americans agree it’s important to support the health and (physical) safety of athletes

Fandom

69% of American females identify as sports fan, compared to 81% of American males

56% of Americans (61% of sports fans) have engaged with athletes or teams outside of the sport, eg on social media, live streams, or listening to a podcast

64% of Americans feel the use of technology while watching live sporting events will improve over the next five years

For the full survey on The Future Of Sport contact hello@crowddna.com

A road map of sport in the city 

Thanks for reading.