‘It’s Oakland’: Hometown crowd fills plaza to celebrate Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu

HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE FLOODED into Frank Ogawa Plaza outside of Oakland City Hall on Thursday to celebrate the return of Alysa Liu, 20, after her gold medal win in the women’s singles figure skating competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games.

The downtown Oakland celebration comes after weeks of planning by the mayor’s office, partner organizations, and Liu’s team, who asked for a fixed-location party in lieu of a parade through the city.