The Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games run from Friday 14 July to Sunday 30 July 2028, with some competition beginning on 12 July before the Opening Ceremony, and the Paralympic Games following from 15 to 27 August 2028. It is Los Angeles’ third Olympics after 1932 and 1984, staged entirely in existing venues — no new permanent stadiums. Tickets are being sold through a draw system: registration opened in January 2026, the first purchase windows ran in spring 2026 with prices starting at $28, and further sales phases — including first-come, first-served sales and the first Paralympic ticket drop — follow in 2027. This early guide covers what is confirmed now and how to position yourself for the remaining ticket phases.

Two years out is not too early for an Olympics; for LA28 the ticket race has already started. The good news is that the system is phased, and later phases are designed for people who missed the first draw.

The Games at a Glance

Venues by Zone: Where Everything Actually Happens

LA28 is not a compact Games. With 49 venues across 18 zones, the smartest decision you will make is choosing a zone first and sports second. Two venues anchor everything: the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which hosts athletics in the first week, and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, which shares the Opening Ceremony with the Coliseum and then converts into the largest swimming venue in Olympic history for week two. That swap — athletics first, swimming second — shapes the whole fortnight.

Beach volleyball returns to sand in the region that popularised it, and road events use the city itself as the venue. The practical takeaway: a hotel that is perfect for the Coliseum can be a long journey from Long Beach on the same day. Group your sessions by zone and treat cross-city days as the exception. Our event trip planner shows how to build a multi-venue itinerary without burning out by day three.

New and Returning Sports

LA28 expands the programme: flag football and squash make their Olympic debuts, baseball and softball return, lacrosse returns in its fast sixes format after more than a century away, and cricket returns in T20 form for the first time since 1900 — six men’s and six women’s teams, and likely one of the hardest tickets of the Games relative to venue size. Mixed-gender team events also expand across several sports. For ticket strategy, new sports are double-edged: curiosity demand is high, but early rounds can be more available than the blue-ribbon finals.

Schedule Highlights: The Days That Matter Most

You do not need to memorise all 17 days. A handful of dates carry most of the drama — and most of the ticket demand.

Before the flame is lit. A small number of sports, including football, begin on 12 July, two days before the Opening Ceremony on 14 July. Arrive early and those sessions are often among the easiest tickets of the Games.

The first medals. The first medal event of LA28 is expected to be the triathlon, raced around Venice Beach — a fittingly Los Angeles way to open the medal table.

Week one belongs to athletics. In a deliberate break with recent Games, track and field runs in the first week at the Coliseum. Sprint finals and the biggest athletics nights land early, while prices are still climbing toward their peak.

Week two belongs to swimming. SoFi Stadium converts after the Opening Ceremony into a vast indoor pool venue, and swimming headlines the second week. If swimming is your priority, plan late; if athletics is, plan early.

Saturday 29 July — the busiest medal day. The penultimate Saturday is expected to be the single busiest medal day of the Games, with finals stacking up across sports. Book sessions in one zone and stay there — it is the hardest day of the Games to move around the city.

Sunday 30 July — the finish. The final day combines the last finals with the Closing Ceremony at the Coliseum. If you can only attend one ceremony, weigh this one carefully: it is usually easier to obtain than the Opening Ceremony.

Tickets: How the Draw and Drops Work

LA28 sells tickets in phases, and understanding the mechanics properly is worth real money and real sessions.

How the draw actually works, step by step

Step 1 — Register once. You register on the official LA28 ticketing site and enter the draw. One registration matters beyond a single drop: registered fans are expected to be carried forward and considered for later drops automatically, rather than starting again each time. Check the official site for the current phase’s rules, as LA28 has adjusted details between phases.

Step 2 — Receive a time slot. If you are selected, you receive a purchase window of up to 48 hours in which to log in and buy. It is not a queue you must watch all day; the window is yours alone.

Step 3 — Check out inside your window. Once you start buying, the checkout itself is time-limited — expect around 30 minutes to complete a purchase. Decide your sessions, zones and price bands before your slot opens.

Step 4 — Know the limits. During the draw phases, purchases were capped at 12 tickets per person, with up to 12 additional football (soccer) tickets, and a maximum of 4 tickets for ceremonies. Limits can change by phase, so check the figure for the drop you are buying in.

Payment note. A major card network is expected to be the preferred or exclusive payment partner for official sales, as at recent Games — have a Visa card available if you can, plus a backup payment method.

If you missed the first draw

You have not missed the Games. The first registration window ran from 14 January to 18 March 2026, with local presale windows for Greater Los Angeles and Oklahoma City area residents in early April 2026 and the first general drops later that spring — but LA28’s model is deliberately phased. Still to come, at the time of writing: further drops, first-come, first-served sales in 2027 with no draw mechanics, the first Paralympic ticket drop in 2027, and returned and production-release tickets nearer the Games. An official resale platform is also expected to open closer to the Games; until it does, do not buy from unofficial resale posts — those tickets may be invalid or non-transferable. Hospitality packages through the official provider run in parallel throughout, for buyers who want certainty at a premium price.

What LA28 Tickets Actually Cost

“From $28” is real — around a million tickets were priced at that level as a nod to the year 2028, and LA28 has committed that roughly a third of all tickets will cost under $100. But a floor price is not a budget. Here is how pricing looked in the first drop, at the time of writing, and how to plan around it honestly.

Three lessons came out of the first drop. First, the cheapest sessions sell on availability, not drama: early rounds of sports such as hockey and cricket offered genuine $28 entry while headline finals were priced far higher. Second, some in-demand sessions showed as unavailable in the first drop without being gone forever — LA28 holds inventory back for later phases. Third, organisers stated that dynamic pricing would not be used in the initial sales, making early prices more predictable than a typical US sports release. That policy may not hold for every later phase, so treat this table as a planning guide, not a promise, and re-check prices at each drop. For the wider picture, see our round-up of the top sporting events in the world in 2027.

When to Book Flights and Hotels

Flights. Airlines typically open schedules around 11 months before departure, so most July 2028 flights become bookable from around August 2027. Set fare alerts well before then and aim to book in the first weeks after schedules open. If you collect miles or points, check award availability the moment schedules open — the best seats go first.

Hotels. Book refundable accommodation early — now is not too soon. Los Angeles hotel prices will move in waves with each ticket drop, and rooms near the Coliseum, Inglewood and Long Beach will tighten first. Where you can, buy your sessions first, then lock the hotel to the zone those sessions sit in.

International visitors. Many visitors can use ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program, but others will need a B-1/B-2 visitor visa with an interview, and Games summers fill consular appointment calendars months ahead. This is general guidance, not legal advice — check your own status against official US sources early. The principles in our guide to a visa for attending an event in the USA apply to spectators just as they do to conference delegates.

Getting Around Without a Car

LA28 is being planned as a transit-first, effectively no-car Games for spectators, so plan on the assumption that you will not drive yourself to sessions. Los Angeles Metro rail and bus services link the main clusters — downtown and Exposition Park are directly rail-served, Inglewood is connected by rail with shuttle links to SoFi Stadium, and Long Beach sits at the end of a direct rail line from downtown. Games-time bus services, park-and-ride shuttles and expanded frequencies are expected on top of the normal network, with details published closer to 2028.

Plan journeys the way locals survive the city: one zone per day where possible, generous buffers before evening sessions, and a charged phone with an offline map. The distances are real — downtown to Long Beach is roughly 25 miles — so a morning session in one cluster and an afternoon session in another is the classic LA28 mistake. Build your days around clusters.

Where to Stay, and Which Week Should You Attend?

Stay by zone. Downtown and Exposition Park suit ceremonies and athletics; Inglewood suits swimming week; Long Beach suits its own large cluster and usually prices lower than the west side.

Week one or week two? The athletics–swimming swap forces this choice on anyone who cannot stay the full 17 days. Choose week one for athletics, the Opening Ceremony atmosphere and the first-medal buzz. Choose week two for swimming, the deepest roster of finals, the busiest medal day on 29 July and the Closing Ceremony. Pick deliberately — your ticket strategy, hotel zone and flight dates all hang off it.

What a trip might cost in total. Here is a planning estimate — labelled as an estimate, at the time of writing — for one person attending for about a week, excluding international airfare:

Use our event travel checklist to sequence what to book at each stage, and re-price this table after every drop you buy in.

The Paralympics at LA28: A Games in Their Own Right

The LA28 Paralympic Games run from 15 to 27 August 2028, a little over two weeks after the Olympic Closing Ceremony — and they deserve more than a footnote. Los Angeles is expected to stage one of the largest Paralympic programmes yet, using many of the same headline venues, including the Coliseum and the downtown and Long Beach clusters.

Ticketing follows its own track: the first Paralympic ticket drop is scheduled for 2027, separate from the Olympic phases, and Paralympic tickets at recent Games have been among the best value in world sport — full stadiums, elite competition and prices starting well below comparable Olympic sessions. Register on the official LA28 site, watch for the 2027 drop, and plan with the same zone logic.

Free Ways to Feel Part of the Games

Not every LA28 memory needs a ticket. The torch relay will cross the region before the Opening Ceremony and is free to watch from the street. Live sites and fan zones are expected in downtown, Long Beach and other clusters, screening sessions free of charge — the standard pattern at recent Games, with confirmed locations announced closer to 2028. Road events such as the marathon are watched from public streets by design. Build two or three of these free anchors into a budget trip and a cheaper ticket portfolio feels much bigger.

Frequently Asked Questions

When are the LA 2028 Olympics?

The Olympic Games run 14–30 July 2028, with a small number of events starting on 12 July, before the Opening Ceremony on 14 July at the LA Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. The Paralympics follow on 15–27 August 2028.

How do I buy LA 2028 tickets?

Through the official LA28 ticketing system: register, enter the draw for a purchase time slot, and buy during your window; later phases in 2027 add first-come, first-served sales. Around 14 million tickets are planned, starting at $28, with roughly a third under $100.

Is it too late to get LA 2028 tickets if I missed the first draw?

No. LA28 releases tickets in multiple phases across 2026, 2027 and 2028, including first-come, first-served sales and the first Paralympic drop in 2027, plus returned inventory nearer the Games. Register on the official site and avoid unofficial resale.

Which venues host the Opening Ceremony and the biggest events?

The Opening Ceremony is shared between the LA Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium — a first for the Games. The Coliseum hosts athletics in week one; SoFi converts to host swimming in week two. Events spread across 49 venues, including a satellite hub in Oklahoma City.

What new sports are at LA 2028?

Flag football and squash debut; baseball, softball and lacrosse return; and cricket returns in T20 format for the first time since 1900. The programme totals 36 sports and a published 351 medal events.

How much do LA 2028 Olympic tickets cost?

Prices start at $28, with around a million tickets at that level and roughly a third of all tickets under $100, based on LA28’s published commitment at the time of writing. Early rounds sit at the bottom of the range, blue-ribbon finals cost several hundred dollars in the best categories, and the ceremonies are the most expensive standard tickets. See “What LA28 Tickets Actually Cost” above for the full breakdown.

Can I resell or transfer LA 2028 tickets?

Only through official channels. An official LA28 resale platform is expected to open closer to the Games, and tickets bought there or on the official ticketing site are the ones certain to be honoured. Tickets offered through social media or unofficial resale posts before that platform opens carry a real risk of being invalid or non-transferable.

When do Paralympic tickets for LA28 go on sale?

The first Paralympic ticket drop is scheduled for 2027, as a separate phase from the Olympic sales, with further sales expected into 2028. Register on the official LA28 ticketing site to be notified as phases open. Paralympic sessions run 15–27 August 2028 and at recent Games started at lower prices than comparable Olympic sessions.

Conclusion

LA28 rewards the organised: the dates are fixed (14–30 July 2028), the venues are built, the ticket system is phased, and the entry price is genuinely low if you play the phases properly. Register, choose your sports and your zone, and let each announced drop come to you. We will keep this guide updated through every sale phase. See the rest of the era’s giants in our Top 10 Sporting Events of 2027, plan the journey with our event trip planner, and browse more in our Sports category.