Proposals include a World Cup fan festival, a new beachside music festival, a national ESPN broadcast experience and two Olympic hospitality activations
Santa Monica city officials are poised to consider authorizing negotiations for a series of large-scale sporting, entertainment and cultural events that could place the city’s coastline at the center of global attention from 2026 through 2028.
At its upcoming meeting, the Santa Monica City Council will decide whether to allow staff to enter into exclusive negotiating agreements, letters of intent and term sheets with five event organizers tied to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The proposals include a World Cup fan festival at the Santa Monica Pier, a new beachside music festival, a national ESPN broadcast and fan experience, and two Olympic hospitality and media activations planned for the summer of 2028.
City staff emphasized that approval of the proposed agreements would not authorize the events themselves. Instead, the actions would allow detailed negotiations and feasibility planning to proceed while required environmental reviews are conducted under the California Environmental Quality Act. Final license agreements for any event would return to the council for approval.
According to a report from City Manager Oliver Chi, Santa Monica’s beachfront, transit access and international reputation make it an attractive location as Los Angeles hosts several of the world’s most-watched sporting events over the next several years. Chi wrote that the city has an opportunity to participate in the regional event cycle while maintaining fiscal responsibility and protecting public assets.
Under the proposals, none of the events would receive city subsidies. Each would be required to meet full cost recovery through a single, all-inclusive license fee covering land use, displaced parking revenue and city services such as public safety, permitting and inspections.
Among the proposals is a World Cup fan festival planned for June 2026 at the Santa Monica Pier, led by Anheuser-Busch and its Michelob ULTRA brand. The temporary activation would feature match viewing, entertainment programming and food and beverage service during the tournament’s Los Angeles-area matches.
The council will also consider awarding a request for proposals to Goldenvoice, the concert promoter behind Coachella, to explore the feasibility of a multi-day music and cultural festival along Santa Monica Beach beginning in fall 2026.
For winter 2027, ESPN is seeking to negotiate an agreement to stage a fan festival and international broadcast presence on the Pier and adjacent beachfront in conjunction with a major sporting event at SoFi Stadium.
Two Olympic-related proposals are scheduled for summer 2028. The French National Olympic and Sport Committee is seeking to host “Club France,” its official hospitality house, at the Annenberg Community Beach House. Separately, LOIDL LLC, operating as Hochsitz, has proposed a “Nations Village” and international broadcast center at Crescent Bay Park and portions of Lot 4 South during both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
City staff said an internal working group involving public safety, transportation and other departments has been coordinating planning for potential large-scale events and developing a unified pricing and evaluation framework. The city is also preparing possible municipal code changes related to noise, lighting and signage to accommodate temporary activations, which would be brought to the council at a later date.
Officials said the proposed events could generate economic activity for local hotels, restaurants and businesses while raising Santa Monica’s global profile, provided they meet environmental, safety and financial requirements.
