Los Angeles 2028 Olympics in the open ticket draw

Sports fans can now sign up for a chance to attend the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games – with tickets starting at $28 (£21).

Registration has been opened for fans to enter a random draw for tickets covering all events that will be held at the games. The window will remain open until mid-March.

If selected, fans will be notified via email and will be given a time slot to purchase tickets in April. One million of those tickets will sell for $28, with about a third set to cost less than $100 (£74.41).

“These Games belong to everyone,” Casey Wasserman, president of Los Angeles 2028, said Tuesday. “These games need to be affordable and inclusive.”

The announcement of affordable ticket prices comes after ticket prices for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup – which will also be hosted by the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico – received some public criticism.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Los Angeles officials said affordability and accessibility were a key component of their ticketing plan — and their hope that sports fans around the world will be able to attend.

Tickets for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris start at $27.95 (£21).

A special early-bird window will also be opened for residents of the Los Angeles and Oklahoma City area, where some of the Olympic Games are also being held.

The 2028 Games will be the first time the Olympics will be held in the United States since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics twice – in 1932 and 1984 – and plans to use its already existing infrastructure to host the games.

Event organizers, along with hundreds of Olympic and Paralympic athletes, gathered at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday for a ceremonial lighting of the Olympic venue’s cauldron before ticket registration opened.

The coliseum has hosted events on both previous occasions that the Olympic Games have been held in Los Angeles, and is scheduled to co-host the opening ceremony along with the track and field events in 2028.

Organizers at the event explained on Tuesday how tickets will work.

Once registered — using name, email and zip code — fans will be entered into a random drawing for time slots to purchase tickets in April. The earlier a fan is given a slot, the greater their chance of obtaining tickets – as giving them a time slot does not guarantee that tickets will be available once the time slot opens.

The first set of tickets will be available for purchase from April 9-19. Admission to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games will be among the tickets on offer.

Most of the games will be held in Los Angeles and Southern California, but rowing and softball will be held in Oklahoma.

Alison Katz Mayfield, president of LA28, called the random ticket raffle “the fairest way to ensure the greatest number of people get tickets and no one takes advantage or is disadvantaged.”

“No matter when you enter, whether you are the first person in or the last person in, you have the same opportunity,” she added.

Ticket registration will be open until March 18, and there is no early registration feature.