2028 Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA 28, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to 30, 2028, in the United States. Los Angeles will be the host city, with various events also scheduled to be held at other cities spread across the Greater Los Angeles area, plus two subsites in Oklahoma City.
Los Angeles had originally bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Following multiple withdrawals, the International Olympic Committee approved a process to concurrently award the 2024 and 2028 Games to Los Angeles and Paris as the two remaining candidates; Paris was preferred as host for 2024, while Los Angeles agreed to host in 2028. Los Angeles was formally awarded the Games at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru, on September 13, 2017. They will mark the fifth Summer Olympics, and ninth Olympics overall to be hosted by the United States; having previously hosted the Summer Olympics in 1932 and 1984, Los Angeles becomes the third three-time host city after London and Paris, and the first non-European city to do so. These will be the first Summer Olympics held under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry.
After debuting in 2020 as optional events, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing have been promoted to the Summer Olympics' core event program. The Games will feature the debut of flag football and squash as optional sports, joined by the return of baseball/softball, cricket and lacrosse. The modern pentathlon is expected to feature an updated format replacing show jumping with obstacle course racing.
Bidding process
On September 16, 2015, the International Olympic Committee announced the candidature process and the five candidate cities for the 2024 Games: Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome. Budapest, Hamburg, and Rome eventually withdrew, leaving only Los Angeles and Paris. A similar situation had already occurred during the bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics when Kraków, Lviv, Oslo, and Stockholm withdrew, resulting in a two-way decision between Beijing, China, and Almaty, Kazakhstan, with Beijing ultimately declared the winner. On April 3, 2017, at the IOC convention in Denmark, Olympic officials met with bid committees from Los Angeles and Paris to discuss the possibility of naming two winners in the competition to host the 2024 Summer Games.After these withdrawals, the IOC Executive Board met in Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 9, 2017, to discuss the 2024 and 2028 bid processes. The IOC formally proposed electing the 2024 and 2028 host cities at the same time in 2017, a proposal that an Extraordinary IOC Session approved on July 11, 2017, in Lausanne. The IOC set up a process where the Los Angeles and Paris 2024 bid committees and the IOC held meetings in July 2017 to decide which city would host in each of the two years.
Following the decision to award the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously, Paris was understood to be preferred for the 2024 Games, as it would also mark the centennial of the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. On July 31, 2017, the IOC announced Los Angeles as the sole candidate for 2028, with $1.8 billion of additional funding from the IOC, allowing Paris to be confirmed as the host for 2024. On August 11, 2017, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve the bid. On September 11, 2017, Los Angeles received formal approval from the IOC's evaluation commission. On September 13, 2017, Los Angeles was formally awarded the 2028 Games following a unanimous vote by the IOC. IOC president Thomas Bach praised the LA bid for using a record-breaking number of existing and temporary facilities and for relying entirely on corporate funding.
On October 16, 2017, LA 2028 received official endorsement from the state of California. On August 29, 2018, Olympic officials arrived for a two-day visit that included meetings with local organizers and a tour of the city's newest venues. At the time, LMU and LA Times polls stated that more than 88% of Angelenos were in favor of the city hosting the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In March 2023, a poll conducted by Suffolk University and the LA Times indicated 57% of Angelenos believed the Olympics would be good for the city, while 20% indicated they thought it would have a negative impact.
Development and preparations
Transportation
Los Angeles civic leaders initially announced a plan to make the 2028 Olympics "car-free", aiming to reduce congestion, shorten travel times, and comply with security restrictions that limit parking near venues. The Twenty-eight by '28 initiative, launched by former Mayor Eric Garcetti, aimed to complete 28 infrastructure projects before the Games. Most projects were already in planning stages, but the initiative accelerated their completion. Funding comes from Measure R and Measure M, countywide sales tax measures. Mayor Karen Bass also promoted strategies such as encouraging remote work during the event to reduce demand on the transportation network.By March 2024, the original list of 28 projects was significantly revised, with 11 projects, including 5 rail line expansions, replaced by smaller projects considered more feasible to meet deadlines, including some projects that had already been completed. By late 2024, observers expressed concern that only 5.2% of LA Metro’s $3.3 billion Olympic-related project list was funded, and several projects were running behind schedule. Officials also noted uncertainties related to government agency staffing, interagency coordination, and the late finalization of the Olympic venue list. These challenges led civic leaders to pivot away from a fully "car-free" Games toward a "transit-first" approach.
Rail projects
Several major rail expansions are underway to support Olympic transportation. The D Line extension is being completed in three phases: the first phase will extend service from Wilshire/Western to Wilshire/La Cienega by early 2026; the second phase will continue to Century City by late 2026; and the third phase will reach the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center by 2027, including a station near UCLA that will connect the Olympic Village to downtown venues. Construction began in 2014 and remains largely on schedule.The Regional Connector, completed in 2023, links Metro’s light rail lines in downtown Los Angeles, providing easier transfers between lines that serve Long Beach, the San Gabriel Valley, and Santa Monica, all of which will host Olympic competition venues. The K Line, which opened in October 2022 after multiple delays, connects the Crenshaw District, Inglewood, and Westchester, and will connect with a people mover at LAX, now scheduled to open in June 2026 after several postponements.
Bus fleet expansion
While many venues are located near existing rail lines, Los Angeles lacks the continuous, high-capacity subway system that supported past Olympic Games. Consequently, buses are expected to serve as the primary mode of transportation for most spectators. Los Angeles Metro and Olympic organizers estimate that an additional 2,700 buses will be needed, effectively doubling the current Metro fleet of 2,320 vehicles. Metro has requested that transit agencies nationwide donate buses near the end of their usable life for temporary Olympic service, potentially adding hundreds of vehicles. Costs are estimated at $700 million to $1 billion, and through the Vision 2028 plan, Metro is seeking federal grants and coordinating post-Games resale of buses to other cities.Budget
In April 2019, the estimated cost of the Games was assessed as being approximately $6.88 billion, with all the money coming from the private sector. The organizers adjusted the budget for inflation after LA, which originally bid for the 2024 Games, agreed to wait four more years.The City of Los Angeles is the lead public guarantor, committing to spend up to $250 million to cover shortfalls. In 2016, the California legislature took action so that the Governor is empowered to negotiate the next $250 million in public backup, but only after the city backup money has been used first. LA 2024 also agreed to purchase a wide range of insurance policies to cover financial relief in the event of natural disaster, terrorism, event cancellation, as well as reduced ticket sales. The Games are expected to generate as much as they cost, with $2.5 billion coming in through sponsorships and nearly $2 billion earned through ticket sales. Average ticket prices for the Games will range between $13 and $457.
Security
Security will be handled by the U.S. federal government with an agreement signed by the LA organizing committee and Department of Homeland Security in February 2020, but it will not be involved in the Games' funding, covering only the aforementioned security costs.The Olympics are the second to take place in the United States since the September 11 attacks in 2001. Like the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which took place five months after that attack, the United States Department of Homeland Security will designate the Olympics a National Special Security Event. Due to this designation, the United States Secret Service will be in charge of security and will head a single chain of command.
Casey Wasserman has insisted that there will be no issues with the federal government on obtaining visas for athletes, security and delivery at the 144th IOC Session. Concerns were raised by IOC officials regarding travel bans and ongoing tensions within the US. Wasserman also stated they have received bipartisan support from all previous US presidents, along with Donald Trump. LA28 officials met with then President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago and his administration pledged to help Los Angeles recover from the wildfires, and hold "the greatest games". In July 2025, $1 billion in funding was earmarked for a Homeland Security Grant Program for federal security and planning costs as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.