Registration opened today for ticket lottery with purchases starting April 2 for locals and April 9 for general public
Registration opened today for a chance to buy tickets for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with organizers emphasizing affordability as tickets start at $28. The registration window will remain open until March 18, giving global sports fans an opportunity to enter a random draw for time slots to purchase tickets for all Olympic events.
About 14 million tickets will be released for the Olympics and Paralympics, topping the 12 million tickets available for the Paris Olympics. One million tickets across all sports will be set at $28, and roughly one third of all tickets will cost less than $100. Casey Wasserman, chairman of LA28, said these Games belong to everyone and must be affordable and inclusive.
The announcement of affordable ticket prices comes after criticism of pricing for the 2026 men’s football World Cup, which will also be hosted in the US, Canada and Mexico. LA officials said affordability and accessibility were central to their ticketing plan, with the hope that sport fans around the globe would be able to attend.
Lottery system ensures fairness
The process starts by signing up at la28.org to be entered in a lottery for a time slot to purchase tickets. Registrants will be notified via email beginning March 31 if they have been assigned a time slot. The earlier slot a fan receives, the better their chances at securing tickets, as being given a time slot does not guarantee ticket availability once the window opens.
LA28 chief Allison Katz-Mayfield called the random ticket drawing process the fairest way to ensure that the broadest number of people can get access to tickets and that no one is advantaged or disadvantaged. She added that no matter when you register, whether first or last, you have the same opportunity. There is no advantage to registering early during the open window.
Fans are allowed to purchase up to 12 tickets per person for the Olympics. If they do not purchase the maximum during their allotted time slot, they will be automatically entered for subsequent draws. Registration is required only once, even for Paralympic tickets that go on sale in 2027.
Local residents get early access
Los Angeles area residents and those in the Oklahoma City region, the site of softball and canoe slalom, who register for the ticket draw will have a chance to secure a time slot during a special early access window. The locals early purchase window runs from April 2 through April 6 for those who register by March 18.
To be eligible for locals early access, registrants must have a zip code matching a credit card billing address in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino or Ventura counties for California events. In Oklahoma, a Canadian or Cleveland county address is required. Full ticket sales for the general public will open from April 9 to 19, with rolling ticket drops continuing after that initial window.
Games return to Los Angeles
The Olympics will return to Los Angeles for a historic third time in 2028. The LA 2028 Olympics opening ceremony is July 14, 2028, with competition through July 30, 2028. The LA28 Paralympic Games will kick off August 15, 2028, and close August 27, 2028.
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will host the opening ceremony in a dual venue celebration. The Paralympic opening ceremony will be at SoFi Stadium with the closing ceremony at the Coliseum. Most of the Games will be held across Los Angeles and southern California, with Long Beach having the second most Olympic events out of any city behind LA.
The program approved for 2028 has 22 more medal events than Paris 2024, totaling 353 events. Flag football will make its Olympic debut in 2028 and lacrosse will return to the lineup of medal sports for the first time in more than a century. Baseball and softball will make their Olympic comeback, and cricket also will be part of the lineup.
Track and field will compete at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the first week of the Olympics schedule with swimming moving to the second week at SoFi Stadium, swapping their typical schedules. Field hockey, basketball, rugby sevens, water polo, handball and cricket will be the first sports to kick off competition on July 12, two days before the opening ceremony.