Remember 'Light the Fire Within'? Here's the motto for LA's 2028 Summer Games

LOS ANGELES — There's typically a motto created for every Olympic and Paralympic Games that's intended to succinctly express how organizers want the world to experience the multibillion-dollar international sporting event.

At the last Games held in February in Milan Cortina, Italy, the motto was "IT's Your Vibe," with the letters "IT" representing the host country. Various "vibes," such as athlete talent and fan energy, were able to be added to the somewhat awkward phrase.

Other recent mottos reflected the state of the world: "Games Wide Open" for the first post-COVID-19 pandemic Olympics, the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, and "United By Emotion" for the previous Summer Games held in Tokyo, delayed a year until 2021 due to the pandemic.

Los Angeles just announced "Stars Align" as the motto for the next Olympics and Paralympics, the 2028 Summer Games, describing the choice as what happens "When the triumph of sport meets the city of dreams."

The motto, released this week in a video featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Can't Stop," taps into some of the same Hollywood, well, vibe displayed when the Summer Games were officially handed off to the California city in the Closing Ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

Legendary movie star Tom Cruise stunned audiences at the massive Stade de France, as well as the billions watching on TV, by leaping from the top of the stadium in a special harness, a death-defying stunt that kicked off a handover that ended on a sunny Southern California beach.

The marketing chief for the LA28 organizing committee, Alex Merchán, said the motto is "also a rallying cry and an invitation for athletes to compete — to come, bring their best and compete on the biggest stage on Earth."

It's also a call for Angelenos and "volunteers across the country to come lend a hand and help deliver what will be a very historic Olympic and Paralympic Games, and of course for fans everywhere across this country and around the world," he said.

Utah's 'inspirational' motto from 2002

The "rallying cry" for Utah's 2002 Winter Games, "Light the Fire Within," had a different tone.

"We wanted to use that platform to be of value, to help inspire people to grow and develop, and reach out and help others do the same," recalled Fraser Bullock, who served as chief operating officer in 2002 and is president and executive chair of the state's next Games in 2034.

A volunteer on the 2002 creative team, longtime advertising executive Gordon Bowen, is credited with coming up with the motto during a brainstorm session where he told organizers "there's something special about light and fire and what that does to the world," Bullock said.

The phrase ended up everywhere in 2002, from banners to the gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals and even the design of the still-standing cauldron lit during the Opening Ceremony at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"It was so inspirational because it sends several messages," Bullock said. "We can look at the athletes, how well they do. We get inspired by them and then we light our own fire within to do something to make something better of ourselves."

A motto for the 2034 Winter Games is likely still years away and may or may not include what's been called the vision for the state's second Olympics and Paralympics, elevating the experience for athletes, fans and locals.

For now, Bullock said, the focus is on the 2028 Games and organizers "love what LA is doing. They're leading the path forward for the Olympic movement in the U.S. right now." He said he personally believes the "Stars Align" motto "is very clever" and "really fits their Games."

Are Californians being asked to 'surrender to the spectacle' of the Olympics?

Not everyone is a fan of what LA's Olympic organizers are doing.

Los Angeles Times' daily "Essential California" newsletter writer Jack Dolan told readers he "actually laughed out loud" when he saw the LA28 announcement but then acknowledged it would be hard for anyone to watch the accompanying video "without getting goosebumps."

Still, Dolan said he felt compelled to point out that response is how Olympic hosts are "persuaded to put aside concerns about being stuck with a massive bill and just surrender to the spectacle," despite being on the hook for any financial shortfalls left behind by organizers.

That's a sore subject among some California officials right now. Both Los Angeles and the state of California are the financial guarantors for the privately run Games, expected to cost more than $7 billion.

Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia went so far as to recently issue a subpoena to LA28 organizers, demanding information he says is needed to ascertain their "financial status," including bank statements, venue budgets and details about contracts for services.

Utah taxpayers were the financial guarantors for the 2002 Winter Games that left a substantial surplus and will be again for 2034. The privately run and financed Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has strong ties to the state.

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