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≡ CITY OF SANTA MONICA ≡
After pushing aside the idea of hosting beach volleyball at the 2028 Olympic Games on its beaches in April, the City Council of the City of Santa Monica gave a unanimous go-ahead for the hosting of “Club France” and a “Nations Village” during the Olympic period.
The Council approval allows City Manager Oliver Chi and staff to “execute a Letter of Intent (LOI) term sheet and negotiate and execute a license agreement subject to CEQA [California Environmental Quality Act] compliance” for two specific 2028 programs:
● “[W]ith the French National Olympic and Sport Committee [CNOSF] to host a hospitality house activation at the Annenberg Community Beach House during the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.”
Operated by the CNOSF, Club France is to be the “primary gathering point for French athletes, officials, guests, fans, and media at every Olympic Games. The concept blends live event viewing, cultural programming, French culinary offerings, and athlete celebrations in an open, vibrant environment that promotes national pride and international engagement.”
The use is projected for 35 days at the beach facility opened in 2009 and which includes beach facilities, a pool, an event house and the guest house, left over from the estate of film star Marion Davies. A fee of $1.55 million will be paid, plus city services reimbursement as required.
● “[W]ith LOIDL LLC dba Hochsitz to host a Nations Village to include International Olympic Committee (IOC) satellite broadcast center, National Olympic Committee hospitality house, and brand hospitality house activation at Crescent Bay Park and portions of Lot 4 South during the LA28 Summer Olympic Games.”
This concept does not include any specific hospitality houses for National Olympic Committees yet. It does include a “temporary broadcast center serving official Olympic and Paralympic media partners, hospitality houses for participating nations, and premium brand activations.”
Hochsitz is a production company which has previously created Olympic sponsorship centers for Proctor & Gamble and Omega, for several National Olympic Committees, and for rights-holding broadcasters, such as NBC and the BBC. It would install several event spaces which could remain for future use for the community.
No rental fee was cited in the City report.
All of this is a 180-degree turn for Santa Monica, which negotiated with the LA28 organizing committee for more than a year before pushing away from hosting beach volleyball. But Santa Monica has changed.
Substantial financial difficulties, safety and economic concerns, Santa Monica approved the ”Realignment Plan” in March, including a prior toward “using real estate strategically, attracting and retain businesses, and bringing energy to public spaces.”
Brand-new Mayor Caroline Torosis, sworn in on 10 December 2025, noted at Tuesday’s meeting, “In previous administrations, there has been quite a reticence, quite frankly, to have these large-scale events on our beach and now we’re talking about a couple,” and asked how the Realignment Plan has helped shift the City’s view on events.
It was explained that the cross-departmental planning effort has been improved significantly and the cost structure has changed. City Manager Chi, who started in July 2025, explained at the Council meeting that in the past, “[i]f you wanted to have an event, we didn’t charge you what it cost to provide security, we charged you three times what it cost us” as the emphasis was on making money.
Now, the Santa Monica approach is more focused on “cost recovery”; per the report:
“To manage these opportunities, staff have developed a unified pricing methodology and preliminary evaluation framework that emphasize fiscal responsibility, cost recovery, public benefit, operational feasibility, and alignment with community values. A single, all-inclusive license fee structure is proposed for major coastal activations that combines land use, parking replacement, and City concierge services, including permitting, inspections, and public safety.”
Along with the two Olympic-period projects – and other National Olympic Committees and Olympic sponsors have inquired about space in Santa Monica – the Council also gave staff the go-ahead on a FIFA World Cup 2026 program for sponsor ABInbev for Michelob ULTRA Pitchside Club fan experience, which would also include a buy-out of the nearby, 169-room Viceroy Hotel, for 11-27 June 2026.
ESPN is also asking for use of beachfront for a “broadcast and fan-engagement experience” in February 2027 related to the NFL Super Bowl taking place at SoFi Stadium.
Santa Monica turned its back on the Olympic Games earlier in 2025, but with a turnover of its City Council and its City staff leadership, appears to be back in the Games, at least in a small way, at the end of the year.
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