City of Oakland, Mayor Barbara Lee, Kehlani, and more celebrate Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu at hometown rally
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Kehlani, Steph Curry, W. Kamau Bell, and more come out to celebrate Olympic figure skating star Alysa Liu after her historic turn in Milan.
Olympic figure skating star Alysa Liu received a very warm welcome from her hometown of Oakland, with several familiar Bay Area faces, including Kehlani, turning out to celebrate her.
On Thursday, March 12, the 20-year-old two-time gold medalist, who has taken the world by storm after becoming the first American woman to win an individual Olympic gold medal in 24 years during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, was honored with a rally in front of Oakland City Hall at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza that brought hundreds.
Mayor Barbara Lee presented the athlete with a key to the city where she grew up, still lives, and continues to train at a rink not far from where the rally took place. The event also drew notable names from and connected to the region, including R&B star Kehlani, rapper G-Eazy, comedian W. Kamau Bell, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, rapper P-Lo (who recently released a song about Liu), and others.
“Can y’all make some noise for my GOAT? Come on, Alysa,” Kehlani told the crowd after performing her Grammy Award-winning hit “Folded,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s actually so insane how much talent that Oakland breeds … like across all genres of talents.”
P-Lo also thanked the athlete “for embodying what Oakland and what the Bay Area represents.”
Kehlani also used her time onstage to celebrate her alma mater, Oakland School for the Arts, which Liu attended for one semester during middle school.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere I am today or doing anything I’m doing without everything that Oakland School for the Arts instilled in me,” she said.
Famous alumni from the charter school, founded in 2002, also include Zendaya and her “Euphoria” co-star Angus Cloud, who died in 2023.
“Imma appreciate Oakland ’till the day I die,” Kehlani concluded.
Liu, who has become an Olympic darling following her breakthrough performance in Milan, has also been on an international victory lap that included a stop at Paris Fashion Week, where she rubbed shoulders with Zendaya and other luminaries. Still, she reportedly did not want a traditional parade, The Athletic noted, as many cities organize for returning Olympians. Instead, a rally that celebrated both her achievement and the city all at once proved a more fitting tribute for the figure skater whose horizontal brown-and-blonde striped hair, face piercings, spunky interviews, and blend of pure talent and elegance on the ice have made her as memorable for her individuality as for her historic achievements.