Small local businesses are a key aspect of the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games. A new licensing program aims to further their involvement.
The Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games announced Oct. 20 that an initiative titled “Made for Two Eight” would allow small businesses to use the official LA28 emblem on locally made and sourced products, starting about a year before the Olympics and ending by the conclusion of the Paralympics in August 2028.
Each license is category- and time-specific. Businesses must qualify as a small business under Small Business Administration standards to obtain the license.
One such licensee, downtown-based Homeboy Industries, would provide officially endorsed apparel and accessories, including silk-screened T-shirts with Olympics logos.
Founded in 1988, the nonprofit organization offers one of the largest intervention and rehabilitation programs for formerly gang-involved or incarcerated people in the world.
“This will give our folks a global stage to showcase their talents. But the real beauty of this moment is that it doesn’t stop with us,” Rev. Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, said in a statement. “This is a reminder that the best way to welcome the world is by celebrating the incredible talent we already have right here at home.”
Diversity wins
The program comes at a time when Olympic sentiment sways higher toward human connection than medals.
An October study from Century City-based Acceleration Community of Companies and University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism found that one in five Ameri- cans said international visitors praising their L.A. experience would signal a successful Olympics, and 35% of respondents said they wanted the Olympics to highlight L.A.’s diversity. About 30% also said they wanted the Games to showcase local life, food culture and neighborhoods beyond Hollywood and the beach – a wish that small businesses now have a path to fulfill.
“Our goal from day one has been to ensure the economic benefits of the Games reach our local neighborhoods,” Reynold Hoover, chief executive of the organizing committee, said in a statement. “Made for Two Eight puts the LA28 brand directly into the hands of our diverse local manufacturers. When visitors arrive from around the globe, they won’t just experience the Games, they’ll take home the authentic creativity of Angelenos.”
