Café UCLA: Celebrating Bruin Spirit at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Summary
Café UCLA was a thematic café established in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games, celebrating UCLA’s athletic achievements and promoting the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The café featured UCLA-inspired decorations and hosted a panel with notable UCLA athletes and coaches discussing the university’s Olympic legacy. Forty-nine Bruins participated in the Games, earning medals across numerous sports. Executive Director Pouria Abbassi emphasized the shared Olympic values of Bruins across generations.
During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) made its mark by inaugurating Café UCLA, a dedicated space that celebrated its athletic achievements while fostering anticipation for the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The café showcased an aesthetic resonant with UCLA’s blue and gold colors, featuring themed decor, menus, and outdoor furnishings adorned with the university’s insignia. Staff members donned UCLA-branded aprons and visors, enhancing the immersive experience for patrons. Café UCLA also hosted a panel discussion featuring prominent figures from UCLA athletics, including women’s basketball head coach Cori Close, beach volleyball head coach Jenny Johnson Jordan, and former basketball standout Baron Davis. The dialogue revolved around UCLA’s rich athletic legacy within the context of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, while additionally highlighting the university’s pivotal role in the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Games, where UCLA will serve as the host for the Athletes’ Village. Since the inception of the Olympics in 1928, UCLA has been instrumental in fostering athletic talent, with over 400 Bruins participating as athletes and coaches throughout Olympic history, returning with more than 270 medals. This year, forty-nine Bruins, including athletes, coaches, and support staff, represented the university across fourteen diverse sports, excelling in disciplines such as artistic swimming, basketball, gymnastics, soccer, track and field, volleyball, and water polo. Pouria Abbassi, the Executive Director and CEO of Associated Students UCLA, articulated the essence of the initiative by stating that, “Bruins past, present and future strive to best reflect the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship, and practice the Paralympics values of determination, inspiration, courage and equality in everything that we do.” He expressed the university’s pride in providing a touch of home to the international community gathered for the Olympic festivities. Café UCLA emerged from the popular Parisian coffee locale, Café Fleurus, transforming it into a vibrant celebration of Bruin spirit on July 25 under the auspices of ASUCLA.
The 2024 Olympic Games presented an opportunity for UCLA to not only support its athletes but to reinforce its enduring legacy in Olympic history. The university has a long-standing tradition of excellence in athletics, underscored by its contributions to the Olympic movement since the Games’ inception. The introduction of Café UCLA in Paris served multiple purposes: it celebrated UCLA’s rich history, provided a gathering space for supporters, and functioned as a promotional hub for the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games to be held in Los Angeles, where UCLA is set to play a crucial role as the host of Athletes’ Village. This strategic initiative also sought to elevate the visibility of UCLA’s contributions to sports while creating a sense of community among Bruins abroad.
UCLA’s establishment of Café UCLA during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris successfully bridged its storied athletic heritage with future aspirations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The café not only served as a physical representation of Bruin pride but also facilitated important discussions regarding the university’s impact in the realm of athletics on a global scale. With a significant number of athletes representing UCLA in Paris, the celebrations reaffirmed the university’s commitment to Olympic values and its role in shaping the future of sports.
Original Source: newsroom.ucla.edu
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