Sneak Peak of City of L.A.’s ‘Follow the Sun’ Float That Celebrates The 2024 Olympic Bid

The City of Los Angeles gave a sneak peak of its 2017 Rose Parade Float “Follow the Sun” that celebrates the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid to host the international games Tuesday morning at the busy Fiesta Floats warehouse in Irwindale.

“Today we have the honor and the opportunity to be able to begin the decoration of the Rose Parade float for the L.A. Tourism and the L.A. 2024 bid to get the Olympic and Paralympic games to come to Los Angeles,” said nine-time Paralympian and LA 2024 Vice Chair Candace Cable.

“Follow the Sun” was created in partnership with LA 2024—the organization that is leading the bid for the City of Los Angeles to host the Games—and L.A. Tourism with hopes of bringing to life the city’s iconic venues, endless sunshine and natural beauty, according to a press release.

“It shows all of the reasons why LA would be the perfect host for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said LA 2024’s Luca Servodio
The landmark Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum stands tall at the front of the float, with a flame burning atop its cauldron, as L.A.’s new Olympic logo—LA 2024’s Angel—flies high above the Coliseum’s famed peristyle.

“It’s meant to show off the existing and iconic infrastructure that exists in Los Angeles,” explained Servodio.

The middle of the sprawling float features a true to code beach volleyball court in between big wave swells to represent the the city’s love for sports and outdoor activities, according to Servodio.

Top Olympic and Paralympic legends including Nadia Comaneci, Bart Conner, Lex Gillette, April Ross, Haley Anderson, Candace Cable, Dawn Harper-Nelson, Holly McPeak, Howard Shu, Sinjin Smith and Rudy Garcia Tolson will ride the float on January 2, 2017 along with young Angeleno athletes with the LA84 Foundation, the youth sports non-profit funded by the success of the 1984 Games.

“We’re happy to be here with our Youth Ambassadors program who are student athletes from all around the city and they’re here to help work on the float,” said LA84 Spokesperson Jeremy Rosenberg.

“My family always went out early to watch the floats during the Parade and I’ve never seen the behind the scenes so it’s really cool and I’m so excited,” said LA 84 Foundation athlete Ezra Frech.

The float marks the City of L.A.’s 119th consecutive year collaborating with the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, making one of the longest running float entries in Rose Parade history. No local taxpayer dollars were used in the creation or production of the float.

“This float is going to blow people’s minds because they’re going to realize that this float as well as all the people on it really exemplifies the echoes of success and the success of Los Angeles in the past olympic games that it’s held,” said Cable.