During the second weekend of July, an eight-foot blacked-out fence went up around Windward Plaza. For three days, July 10 through 12, the plaza hosted one of Los Angeles' ten official FIFA World Cup fan zones. Two days were ticketed match screenings. The third was promoted as a free community health and wellness day, and it also included a ticketed dance party. Before the event, Windward Avenue was advertised as closed to cars between Speedway and Pacific Avenue for a block party.
That weekend also served as a preview of 2028. LA28 says the first medals of the Los Angeles Games will be awarded in Venice, in the women's individual triathlon. How much say Venice gets over that summer is being worked out now: in what the fan zone taught the neighborhood, in one vote by the Venice Neighborhood Council, and in a test race scheduled for next July.
Three Days at Windward Plaza
Yo! Venice reported the complaints residents raised after the event. They included artist vendors who were moved out, fencing that blocked an area set aside for free viewing, noise from a crowd estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 people, damaged grass, street parking blocked during setup, and hazards on the bike path from pedestrians, e-bikes and fencing.
The permit history explains how an event that size reached the boardwalk. In a July 9 letter, California Coastal Commission staff excluded the event from permit requirements. They cited three conditions: it would stay off the sandy beach, keep Ocean Front Walk open, and offer free access for 25 percent of capacity. The same letter described July 12 as "an entirely free community event day." So the exemption depended on promises about access. The complaints were largely about access too.
City Hall read the weekend differently. At the Ocean Front Walk Committee's August 3 meeting, Sean Silva of Council District 11 called the event a success and said its screens were available for future events. A Recreation and Parks representative also asked for suggestions on how to use those screens. Councilwoman Traci Park later told the full council that the World Cup event drew backlash from residents. In response, she said, she ran a "360-degree evaluation" so that Venice would be ready for the Olympics, according to Yo! Venice. That account does not say what the evaluation found.
The Vote That Asked for a Seat at the Table
At a special meeting on July 29, the Venice Neighborhood Council took up Motion 79-26-VNC. It asks that permits for future major events on the Venice Beach Boardwalk come to the neighborhood council for review and community input before the City approves them. It also asks the City and CD-11 to investigate whether the fan zone's permit conditions were adequate and whether the event met them.
The minutes show the council kept the community-review language intact:
Amendment to strike the community-review portion: 4 yes, 11 no, 1 abstain. Amendment fails. Main motion: 14 yes, 1 no, 1 abstain. Motion passes.
Recreation and Parks' August 20 report log shows several public comments about the fan zone sent on to its General Manager. The log does not show a formal response to the council's request for an investigation. The vote gives LA28 and the City a clear statement from Venice's elected neighborhood body about how beach events should be handled, and it came months before any Olympic course was published.
What LA28 Has Committed to Venice
The courses came out on September 23. LA28's course announcement puts every triathlon race through a single Transition area, with the finish line next to it, overlooking the coast. Athletes come back to that hub after each bike and run lap, and LA28 expects thousands of fans to watch there. Routes that loop past the same spot again and again also concentrate crowds, fencing and closures at that spot.
| Date | Event | How it touches Venice |
|---|---|---|
| July 15–16, 2028 | Olympic triathlon, women's and men's individual | Swim starts from the beach. Bike laps run on the bike path and local streets, past the Venice sign. Run laps cross the Venice Canals bridges. |
| July 20, 2028 | Olympic triathlon, mixed relay | Shorter laps from the same Transition area on the beach path |
| July 29–30, 2028 | Olympic marathon | The race starts at the Venice Beach Boardwalk |
| August 18–19, 2028 | Paralympic triathlon | Swim starts from a barge beyond the breakwater, then the bike passes the Venice sign |
The individual race is 40 kilometers of cycling in eight 5-kilometer laps, then 10 kilometers of running in four 2.5-kilometer laps. Both legs use the bike path and then move onto the streets. The swim is also unusual. According to LA28, this is only the second time in Olympic history that athletes will start from the beach instead of a pontoon, going straight through the Venice surf. Venice's marathon role is the start only. The rest of that course leaves the neighborhood. LA28 notes that its competition schedule can change.
Taken together, Venice has Olympic or Paralympic competition on parts of seven days spread over five weeks in the summer of 2028. That is a much longer stretch than the fan zone's three days.
More details came from the October 14 Ocean Front Walk Committee meeting, held at the Waterfront Cafe with about 45 residents and business owners present. LA28's Maxwell Bracey said grandstands and the finish line would go in the North Venice Beach boardwalk parking lot. He described security as a mix of private staff, LAPD and the LA Sheriff's Department, working with federal agencies including the Secret Service, as Yo! Venice reported. Park told the council that Venice would become "the face of Los Angeles" during the Games. She called the preparation "a heavy lift" and said she expected infrastructure investment to follow, because Venice's streets and sidewalks carry three beach events.
The Dress Rehearsal Is in July 2027
The plans get their first real test before 2028. World Triathlon's 2027 calendar lists a Los Angeles Triathlon at Venice Beach on July 16–18, 2027, as part of the new T50 tour. LA28 says the event will let athletes race the 2028 courses, and will help organizers assess how the courses perform and whether operations are ready.
When this post goes live, that race is a little over eight months away. It will be the first time Olympic-scale closures, fencing and crowd flow are tried on Venice streets. World Triathlon says it wants every tour stop to include "mass participation amateur races." That is a goal for the whole tour, not a confirmed race for the Venice stop.
Some smaller projects are also being timed to the Games. Tima Bell is a lifelong Venice resident, an architect and the owner of Washington Square Pizza. His proposal for arches at the Venice Pier would remove the parking booth and add permeable paving, low-level lighting, trees and work by local artists. The Ocean Front Walk Committee sent it to the full council on a 6-0 vote, and the stated goal is to finish before the 2028 Games. Park also proposed a motion to improve the Marvin Braude Bike Trail through Venice Beach, and the council approved it in October. The Olympic bike and run courses both start on that path.
Where Residents Can Weigh In This Month
The fan zone showed how little time there can be between an event announcement and a fence going up. The Olympic schedule allows much more lead time. These are the opportunities on the calendar now:
- Thursday, November 12, and Thursday, November 19. LA28 told the Ocean Front Walk Committee it will hold two in-person community meetings on these dates. RSVPs go through la28.org. Check there for the venue and time before you go.
- The Ocean Front Walk Committee. This committee usually meets at The Waterfront, 205 Ocean Front Walk. LA28 presented here, and so did the pier arches proposal. The November 2 meeting was cancelled. Upcoming dates are posted on the Venice Neighborhood Council calendar.
- LA28 volunteer applications. Applications are open to anyone 18 or older, and applicants can request specific events. Bracey also said LA28 wants local businesses involved.
Bracey told the committee he would stay in regular contact with its chair, Fran Solomon. Venice now has a named LA28 contact, a council vote on record asking for event review, and a test race scheduled for July 16–18, 2027.
If you own near the Canals, the boardwalk or the bike path and are weighing how the 2027 test race and the 2028 Games might fit into your plans, Corisandra Downing is glad to talk through timing with you. Start with a free home valuation so your plans begin from accurate numbers.
