Downtown LA graffiti triples as city prepares for World Cup, Olympics

Graffiti tagging in downtown Los Angeles more than tripled between 2023 and 2025, with the Historic Core Business Improvement District reporting it covered 31,590 tagged surfaces last year, up from 9,483 two years prior, as the city readies to host the World Cup, Super Bowl and 2028 Olympics.

The surge is raising alarm among residents and business owners who fear rampant tagging will mar the city's image ahead of a string of marquee international events, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. Abatement crews work seven days a week but say new tags reappear within 30 to 40 minutes of each cleanup.

The Historic Core BID runs abatement crews every day of the week, painting over tags and pressure-washing surfaces across the neighborhood. Yet the effort offers only temporary relief. Kevin Montalbo, a maintenance worker at a downtown apartment building, described the cycle to ABC7 Los Angeles. "Every day, we're just covering up the paint, every day," Montalbo said. "Within 30, 40 minutes, you'll see another person just tagging."

Blair Besten, leader of the Historic Core Business Improvement District, said the so-called "Graffiti Towers" — heavily tagged high-rises that drew national media attention — helped fuel the wider wave. "When that hit the news, everybody was here and if they couldn't get to the towers themselves, they were in the rest of the neighborhood," Besten said, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

Besten added that taggers have hit surfaces that are particularly difficult to restore. "Yeah, [tagging] a tree really gets under my skin because, you know, to get that off, we have to really be skillful," she told the station.

Carlos Vera, who recently took over a downtown café, said tags appeared outside his business within days of opening. He told ABC7 Los Angeles he draws a firm line between street art and what he sees each morning. "I personally think art and graffiti is pretty cool, but this isn't art, this is not graffiti. This is just a bunch of scribbles," Vera said. He also cited a stark contrast with cities abroad: "Over in Europe, you never see graffiti like this."

Nearly every surface in parts of the neighborhood has been hit — sidewalks, signs, fences, facades and historic buildings alike. Some tags appear so high up that passersby are left wondering how the taggers reached them, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

With the World Cup, Super Bowl and 2028 Olympics on the horizon, the Historic Core BID and building managers say daily abatement will continue — a persistent cat-and-mouse contest with taggers who return before cleanup crews can move on to the next block.