Los Angeles 2028 unveils Olympic competition schedule, marks PlayLA milestone

LOS ANGELES – Organisers of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on July 14 released the first look at the Olympic competition schedule, highlighting a historic reshuffling of key events and the most ambitious sports line-up in Games history.

The announcement comes as the city marks three years to go until the opening ceremony and celebrates a major legacy milestone – more than one million enrolments in the PlayLA youth sports programme.

For the first time in nearly three decades, the Summer Olympics will return to the United States, with Los Angeles hosting for the third time, after 1932 and 1984. The 2028 Games are set to feature 844 ticketed events designed to maximise both domestic and international viewership.

Organisers revealed that the opening ceremony will take place on July 14, 2028, at 5pm local time, split between the LA Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The closing ceremony is scheduled for July 30 at the Coliseum.

Breaking with Olympic tradition, LA28 will reverse the typical schedule of athletics and swimming. Track and field events will take place during the first week, while swimming competitions move to the second week, ending with their finale at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on the second-to-last day of the Games.

The first Olympic champion of LA28 will be crowned at Venice Beach in the triathlon event, while the marathon will close out athletics on the final weekend.

Day 15 is expected to be the busiest for medal events, with 16 team sport finals and 19 individual sport finals taking place.

“The Olympic competition schedule has been meticulously developed to ensure the world’s best athletes can compete in LA,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said in a statement. We are energized by today’s milestones and remain focused on the work ahead as the Road to 2028 continues.”

Organisers said the schedule will continue to be refined, with a more detailed breakdown to be released later in 2025.

“When the world comes here for these Games, we will highlight every neighbourhood as we host a Games for all and work to ensure it leaves a monumental legacy,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said.

Meanwhile, Hoover joined city officials on July 14 at an event at the Coliseum to celebrate PlayLA surpassing one million programme enrolments.

The initiative, backed by up to US$160 million (S$205 million) in investment from LA28, the city’s Recreation and Parks Department, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), provides affordable and inclusive sports programming for children aged three to 17 across more than 40 Olympic and adaptive sports.

Meanwhile, in Winter Olympics news, the Russian Luge Federation (FSSR) said it will take legal action over a decision by the sport’s global governing body to bar the country’s athletes from the qualifying process for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games.

The International Luge Federation (FIL) voted at its congress in Tampere, Finland in June to extend an existing exclusion for Russian athletes from its competitions. It also voted to not authorise a programme for neutral Russian athletes.

The FSSR said in a statement on July 14 it had notified the governing body of its intention to challenge the decision in international courts. The FSSR told Russian news agency TASS it would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“We will defend the rights of our athletes to participate in the Olympic Games 2026,” FSSR President Natalia Gart said.

The FIL did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

The International Olympic Committee said in May that Russian teams remained banned from the 2026 Games as part of sanctions following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Four Russian figure skaters in men’s and women’s singles have been approved by the International Skating Union to try to qualify for the 2026 Olympics as neutral athletes. REUTERS