LA28 Olympics — The UK Visitor's Guide

The essentials

The Games run from 14 July to 30 July 2028. The Paralympic Games follow from 15 to 27 August 2028. Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics twice before — in 1932 and 1984 — and both the LA Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl will each host their third Games, a distinction no other stadiums in the world share.

Unlike recent Games in Tokyo, Paris and London, Los Angeles is not building a single new permanent venue. Every competition takes place in an existing world-class stadium or arena. This is either admirable sustainability or further evidence that LA already has everything — depending on your point of view. Either way, the venues are exceptional.

Tickets went on sale globally in April 2026 and early demand broke records. Book as early as possible. The official ticket platform is la28.org — use nothing else.

Opening and closing ceremonies

The Opening Ceremony on 14 July is split across two venues in an arrangement unique in Olympic history. SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will be the primary host — configured with 38,000 spectators for the swimming competition it will host in week two, but dramatically expanded for the ceremony itself. The LA Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park will co-host, acknowledging its role as the anchor of both the 1932 and 1984 Games.

The Closing Ceremony on 30 July will be held at the Coliseum — the most storied Olympic venue in American history, opened in 1923 and capable of holding 77,500 people. If you can attend one ceremony, the Closing Ceremony at the Coliseum is the one.

Key west coast venues

SoFi Stadium, Inglewood

Home of the Rams and Chargers, SoFi becomes the largest swimming venue in Olympic history for the Games. The pool configuration fits 38,000 spectators under the stadium's translucent roof — natural light, no rain, extraordinary sightlines. Swimming medals are awarded in the second week. If you can get tickets to a swimming session, take them.

LA Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park

Track and field — athletics in Olympic parlance — runs in the first week at the Coliseum. This is where Jesse Owens competed in 1932, where Carl Lewis won four gold medals in 1984. The 100m final, the 4x100 relay, the long jump and the marathon finish will all happen here. Athletics tickets are the hardest to get and the most worth having. The surrounding Exposition Park has the California Science Center, the California African American Museum and the Natural History Museum — all worth visiting whether or not you have Coliseum tickets.

Rose Bowl, Pasadena

The Rose Bowl hosts football — what the world calls football and Americans call soccer — with preliminary matches played across the United States before the competition moves west to Pasadena for the medal rounds. The Rose Bowl hosted the 1994 World Cup Final and the 1984 Olympic football final. The setting — a classic open bowl in the Arroyo Seco valley, ringed by the San Gabriel Mountains — is one of the finest football venues on earth. Old Town Pasadena is a ten-minute walk and an excellent place to spend the hours before or after a match.

Dodger Stadium, Chavez Ravine

Baseball returns to the Olympics at one of the sport's most beautiful venues. Dodger Stadium, opened in 1962, sits in a natural bowl above Downtown with views of the San Gabriel Mountains on clear days. It hosted exhibition baseball at the 1984 Games and now takes its place as a full competition venue. Even if baseball is not your sport, an evening session here with the mountains turning pink at sunset is worth the ticket.

Venice Beach

The first Olympic medal of the entire Games will be awarded at Venice Beach — triathlon on Day 1. Beach volleyball will also compete here against the backdrop of the Pacific and the famous boardwalk. This is the most atmospheric venue on the programme and tickets are likely to be among the more accessible. Arrive early and spend the morning on the boardwalk before competition begins.

Long Beach

Long Beach hosts eleven Olympic events including sailing on the open water off the coast. The venue area on the western edge of Long Beach's coastline is temporary — think Paris 2024's volleyball at the Eiffel Tower — with the Pacific as the backdrop. Long Beach itself is an underrated city with an excellent waterfront, the Queen Mary permanently docked in the harbour, and a vibrant downtown that most Olympic visitors will not discover.

BMO Stadium, Downtown Los Angeles

Home of LAFC in MLS, BMO Stadium hosts flag football — making its Olympic debut in 2028 — and lacrosse. Flag football is genuinely exciting to watch live and the venue is intimate by Olympic standards. For UK visitors unfamiliar with American football, the flag variant is a perfect introduction — all the skill and athleticism, continuous action, no pads.

Santa Anita Park, Arcadia

Equestrian events return to Santa Anita, which hosted the same sports at the 1984 Games. The Art Deco grandstand, opened in 1934, is one of the most beautiful racecourses in America. Arcadia is in the San Gabriel Valley at the foot of the mountains — the backdrop to the dressage and show jumping arenas will be extraordinary.

Crypto.com Arena, Downtown Los Angeles

Basketball — the most watched Olympic sport globally — at the home of the Lakers and Clippers. If the United States men's team is playing, these tickets will be nearly impossible to obtain. The women's competition is equally high quality and significantly more accessible. Any session at Crypto.com Arena is worth attending for the atmosphere alone.

Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades

Golf at one of the most prestigious courses in California. The Riviera has hosted the US Open and the PGA Championship and sits in the hills above Pacific Palisades with views of the Santa Monica Mountains. Golf at the Olympics is a walkable, relaxed experience compared to the major championships — access to the course is generous and the atmosphere is more open than a standard tour event.

Transport — plan for this now

Los Angeles traffic during the Olympics will be severe. The city is expanding its Metro network ahead of the Games — the D Line extension reaches Century City in 2026 and West LA in 2027, with a station near the UCLA Olympic Village. The K Line connects Inglewood to the broader network, making SoFi Stadium reachable by rail.

The city has moved away from its initial plan for a fully car-free Games toward a transit-first approach. Expect significantly expanded bus services across all venue zones. The practical advice: book accommodation near a Metro line and use rail wherever the venue allows. Driving to SoFi, the Coliseum or Dodger Stadium on event days will cost you two hours you do not have.

For the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the Gold Line Metro (now the A Line) stops at Memorial Park station, a short walk from the stadium. For Long Beach, the Blue Line (A Line south) runs directly into downtown Long Beach. Plan every journey in advance using the LA Metro app.

Where to stay

Book accommodation now. Not soon — now. Hotels in the areas near Olympic venues were selling out more than two years ahead of the Games within weeks of the schedule announcement. Santa Monica and West Hollywood put you within reach of the westside venues and on the Metro network. Downtown LA puts you walking distance of Crypto.com Arena, BMO Stadium and the Coliseum, with rail access to Inglewood and Long Beach.

If your priority is the Rose Bowl, Pasadena itself has excellent hotels and the venue is walkable from Old Town. If SoFi is your focus, Inglewood and El Segundo have mid-range options that will be significantly cheaper than Santa Monica and twenty minutes from the stadium.

What to do outside the events

An Olympic trip to Los Angeles should not begin and end at the venues. The city and its surroundings are extraordinary and the Games happen to take place in the best two weeks of the Southern California year — warm, relatively dry, with long evenings.

The Pacific Coast Highway north from Santa Monica to Malibu is forty minutes of coastline that belongs on any California itinerary. Malibu's beaches — El Matador, Zuma, Point Dume — are among the finest in Southern California and far less crowded than the city beaches during the Games. An early morning drive before an afternoon session is entirely feasible.

Griffith Observatory, on the hills above Hollywood, gives the best view of the Olympic city spread below you. Go at dusk when the lights come on across the basin. The hiking trails above the Observatory are excellent and largely empty in the early morning. The Hollywood Sign is a twenty-minute walk from the Mount Lee trailhead.

The Getty Center in Brentwood is free, extraordinary and a twenty-minute drive from Santa Monica. On a clear day the views from the sculpture garden stretch to the Pacific. Grand Central Market in Downtown is the best single food destination in the city — arrive hungry, leave with no plan. The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and Abbot Kinney in Venice are the best areas for walking, eating and watching the Olympic city at full pace.

For those adding days before or after the Games, Orange County is forty-five minutes south — Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and the coast are as beautiful in late July as anywhere in California. Santa Barbara is ninety minutes north and an entirely different register — quieter, cooler, with a Spanish colonial architecture and wine country thirty minutes inland. The Pacific Coast Highway to Monterey and Big Sur begins just north of Malibu and is one of the great drives in the world.

Tips for UK visitors

The time difference between London and Los Angeles is eight hours in July (BST to PDT). Evening sessions in LA start at 7pm or 8pm local time — 3am or 4am in the UK. If you are planning to watch events live at home, set expectations accordingly. If you are there in person, evening sessions are the best of the day — the heat drops, the light is extraordinary and the atmosphere in any Olympic venue at night is incomparable.

July in Los Angeles is warm and dry — typically 25 to 28 degrees Celsius at the coast, higher inland. Sunscreen, a hat and water are not optional at outdoor venues. The Coliseum and the Rose Bowl are open-air — afternoon sessions will be hot. Morning sessions are significantly more comfortable and often have the best athletic competition.

ESTA authorisation is required for UK visitors and should be applied for well in advance of travel. Allow at least 72 hours for processing, though applications are typically approved faster. See our ESTA guide for full details.