The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad (LA28), will take place in Los Angeles, California, from July 14–30, 2028, with the Paralympics following from August 15–27, 2028. Here’s a comprehensive overview based on available information:
Key Details
- Host City: Los Angeles, with events spread across Greater Los Angeles, including Long Beach, Carson, Pasadena, and San Clemente. Two subsites will be in Oklahoma City for softball and canoe slalom.
- Historical Context: This will be Los Angeles’s third time hosting the Summer Olympics (1932, 1984), matching London and Paris as three-time hosts. It’s the first U.S. Summer Olympics since Atlanta 1996 and the ninth U.S.-hosted Olympics overall.
- Dates:
- Olympics Opening Ceremony: July 14, 2028
- Olympics Closing Ceremony: July 30, 2028
- Events: Over 800 events across more than 40 Olympic sports and 22 Paralympic sports, with approximately 10,500 athletes competing.
Venues
LA28 emphasises sustainability by using existing venues, with no new permanent structures built specifically for the Games. Key venues include:
- Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Athletics (track and field) and part of the Opening Ceremony, making it the first stadium to host three Olympiads (1932, 1984, 2028).
- SoFi Stadium: Swimming (the largest Olympic swimming venue ever with 38,000 seats) and part of the Opening Ceremony.
- Rose Bowl (Pasadena): Football (soccer) finals, also hosting its third Olympiad.
- Crypto.com Arena: Gymnastics.
- Intuit Dome: Basketball.
- Dodger Stadium: Baseball.
- Lower Trestles (San Clemente): Surfing.
- Long Beach: Beach volleyball, coastal rowing, and sport climbing (temporary venues).
- Universal Studios (Courthouse Plaza): Squash.
- BMO Stadium: Flag football and lacrosse.
- Oklahoma City: Softball and canoe slalom, due to the world-class existing facilities.
- Other Notable Sites: Venice Beach (triathlon, road cycling, marathon start), Santa Anita Park, Fairplex in Pomona, and Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area.
Venues are organised into “sports parks” in Downtown Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Carson, and Long Beach. Some venues, like football preliminaries and mountain biking, are still pending confirmation.
New and Returning Sports
LA28 introduces new sports and revives others:
- New Sports:
- Flag Football: Five-player teams on a 50-yard field, for both men and women.
- Squash: Olympic debut, hosted at Universal Studios.
- Returning Sports:
- Cricket: T20 format, first since 1900, with six teams per gender and 90 players per event. The U.S. gets an automatic spot as host.
- Lacrosse: Sixes format (six players per team), first since 1908.
- Baseball/Softball: Returns after being absent in Paris 2024.
- Mixed-Gender Events: New team events in archery, athletics, artistic gymnastics, golf, table tennis, and coastal rowing (beach sprint).
- Exclusion: Breaking (breakdancing), debuted in Paris 2024, will not return. Amateur boxing’s inclusion is pending confirmation in 2026.
Opening & Closing Ceremonies
- Opening Ceremony: A dual-venue event at SoFi Stadium and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a first in Olympic history, blending Hollywood glamour with LA’s Olympic legacy.
- Closing Ceremony: Hosted at the Coliseum.
- 50-State Relay: A planned torch relay across the U.S., starting in April 2028, to “bind the nation with LA.”
