Two years to go: LA28 is the target. The countdown is already under way, with two years remaining until the Opening Ceremony of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The Olympic spectacle will return to California for the third time, following the 1932 and 1984 editions.

On 14 July 2028, the Olympic Opening Ceremony will be jointly staged at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Ansa photo) – which will become the first venue in history to host events at three editions of the Olympic Games – and at the stadium in Inglewood.

The use of the two venues, designated respectively to host the athletics and swimming competitions, reflects the revised schedule, with athletics moving to the first week and swimming to the second.

The programme for the 34th edition of the Summer Olympic Games will feature 36 sports and 353 events: 161 women’s, 166 men’s and 26 mixed events, 22 more than at Paris 2024.

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, female participation, at 50.3%, will exceed male participation, at 49.7%. Of the 11,198 athletes expected to compete, 5,635 will be women and 5,563 men. Every team sport will feature at least the same number of women’s and men’s teams, with women’s water polo adding two teams to bring the total to 12. Football will feature 16 women’s teams, four more than the 12 competing in the men’s tournament.

The baseline quota of 10,500 athletes has been increased by a further 698 places, allocated to the five sports proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee: baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash.

Archery, athletics – with the mixed 4x100m relay – golf, gymnastics, rowing – with the coastal beach sprint – and table tennis will all introduce new mixed events.

The Olympic Closing Ceremony will take place at the Memorial Coliseum on 30 July 2028, celebrating the spirit of the Games and further cementing Los Angeles’s status as an Olympic city. Anticipation is building and Olympic fever is rising: LA28 is on the horizon.