Thousands of miles of trails crisscross the city and neighboring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot, bike, or horse.

Across the county a great variety of outdoor activities are available, such as skiing, rock climbing, gold panning, hang gliding, and windsurfing.

The city and its immediate surrounding vicinity leads the world in producing popular entertainment—such as motion pictures, television, and recorded music—which forms the base of its international fame and global status.

On June 23, 2006, five United States candidates met in California to offer official presentations to the USOC Board of Directors.

The article also stated, "Observers say it's likely to be a three-way horse race between.... San Francisco, Chicago and Olympic veteran Los Angeles."

As predicted, the USOC on July 26, 2006, officially named San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago as the three US finalists for the 2016 Olympics, dropping Philadelphia and Houston.

However, on November 13, 2006, San Francisco withdrew its bid from the national selection process, leaving Chicago and Los Angeles as the only contenders in the U.S.

On April 14, the evaluation team presented its findings to the USOC board of directors, and Chicago was chosen as the submission to the International Olympic Committee.

USOC officials were shown a video made by The Walt Disney Studios, that showcased various athletes, movie stars and famous Los Angeles landmarks.

If the 2016 Summer Olympics were to have been held in Los Angeles, the Games would have generated more than $7 billion in potential revenue and create nearly 70,000 jobs.