UCLA brought its own brand of (blue and) gold to Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games with a Bruin-themed café experience to cheer on Bruin athletes and also serve as a bridge to LA28.

Café UCLA - complete with blue and gold decor, menus and outdoor umbrellas with UCLA logos, and wait staff in UCLA aprons and visors - offered pastries and beverages.

It also served as the venue for a panel featuring Bruin women's basketball head coach Cori Close and beach volleyball head coach Jenny Johnson Jordan, as well as former UCLA basketball star Baron Davis.

They discussed UCLA's athletic history in relation to the Olympics and Paralympic Games, as well as the transition to LA28, when Los Angeles will welcome future Olympians. UCLA, which will host Athletes' Village, has seen more than 400 Bruins take part in the Games as athletes and coaches since 1928. They've won more than 270 medals throughout the years.

Forty-nine Bruins - athletes, coaches and staff - participated in the Paris Olympics across 14 different sports. They brought back medals in artistic swimming, basketball, gymnastics, soccer, track and field, volleyball and water polo.

"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," said Pouria Abbassi, executive director and CEO of Associated Students UCLA. "It is our honor to bring a bit of home to our global community gathering for the Olympics."

Popular Paris coffee shop Café Fleurus transformed into Café UCLA on July 25 for the ASUCLA-hosted event.