The LA 2028 Olympic opening ceremony on July 14, 2028 will be the first in history to unfold across two live stadiums at once, the LA Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium, starting at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (8 p.m. Eastern). No Olympics has ever split its opening between two working stadiums before. Los Angeles is doing it because both buildings have a job to do during the Games, and night one is when each one gets introduced to the world.
That's the Two-Stadium Opening, and it's the single most unusual thing about the LA28 ceremonies. Here's the date, the time, why there are two venues, how to watch it, and what tickets actually cost, with one important correction most early reports got wrong.
Key takeaways
- Date and time: Friday, July 14, 2028, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (8 p.m. Eastern), confirmed when LA28 unveiled the ceremony locations on May 8, 2025.
- The Two-Stadium Opening: The ceremony is shared live between the LA Memorial Coliseum (Exposition Park) and SoFi Stadium (Inglewood), an Olympic first.
- Opening vs closing (the correction): The opening uses BOTH stadiums. The closing ceremony, on July 30, 2028, was consolidated to the Coliseum ONLY after a late-2025 LA City Council vote dropped SoFi.
- How to watch (US): NBC, Peacock and Telemundo, since NBCUniversal holds exclusive US Olympic rights through 2036. Peacock carries the full ceremony live.
- Tickets: Priced from $329 to $5,519, sold by a draw-based registration on the LA28 platform, with a 4-ticket maximum and a venue-zone choice.
When is the LA 2028 opening ceremony?
The LA 2028 Olympic opening ceremony is on Friday, July 14, 2028, beginning at 5 p.m. local Pacific Time, which is 8 p.m. on the US East Coast. That early-evening start sets up a primetime broadcast across the country. The Games themselves run July 14 to 30, 2028. LA28 officially announced the ceremony venues on May 8, 2025, locking in the date and the dual-stadium plan that makes this opening unlike any before it.
The Two-Stadium Opening, explained
A "dual-venue celebration" sounds like marketing until you realize it's literal: two packed Olympic stadiums, 13 miles apart, both running the opening ceremony on the same night with a single broadcast weaving between them. The LA Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will each host a live audience and a live segment of the show. It's a logistical moonshot, and it's the headline feature of the entire LA28 ceremonies plan.
Why two stadiums? The Athletics-and-Swimming swap
The dual-venue idea isn't a stunt, it solves a scheduling problem. Both stadiums are also competition venues. The Coliseum hosts Athletics, which LA28 moved to week one (World Athletics agreed to the unusual shift), and SoFi hosts Swimming in week two (July 21 to 30). To make SoFi work as a pool, a temporary swimming venue is built inside it, covered over for the opening ceremony on July 14, then uncovered and finished for the swimming events later. Splitting the opening between the two lets each venue debut its Olympic role on the first night, before the pool takes over SoFi.
Meet the "2028 Stadium": why SoFi loses its name
During the Games, SoFi Stadium is officially called the "2028 Stadium" on the LA28 venues plan. That's the IOC's "clean venue" rule at work, sponsor names are stripped from Olympic competition sites, so SoFi (a sponsor name) becomes the 2028 Stadium for the duration. And it makes history twice: alongside co-hosting the opening, it will hold the largest swimming venue in Olympic history, a temporary pool seating roughly 38,000 spectators, smashing the previous record of 22,209 set at the 2024 US Olympic Trials.
The Coliseum's historic third Olympics
The other co-host carries even more history. The LA Memorial Coliseum staged the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, and in 2028 it becomes the first venue ever to host events for three Olympic Games. A late-2025 LA City Council vote also confirmed the Coliseum as the sole closing-ceremony venue on July 30, 2028, dropping SoFi from the closing entirely. So if you've read that the closing is also a two-stadium event, that's outdated: the opening is dual-venue, the closing is Coliseum-only.
Coliseum vs the 2028 Stadium: how the two venues compare
| Detail | LA Memorial Coliseum | SoFi ("2028 Stadium") |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Exposition Park, Los Angeles | Inglewood, California |
| Olympic history | 1932, 1984, 2028 (3rd Games, a world first) | Olympic debut in 2028 |
| Opening ceremony | Co-host, July 14, 2028 | Co-host, July 14, 2028 |
| Closing ceremony | Sole host, July 30, 2028 | Dropped (2025 council vote) |
| Competition role | Athletics, week 1 | Swimming, week 2 (largest Olympic pool ever, ~38,000 seats) |
| Paralympic ceremony | Paralympic closing, Aug 27, 2028 | Paralympic opening, Aug 15, 2028 |
| Ticket zone | Coliseum zone | Inglewood / 2028 Stadium zone |
How to watch the LA 2028 opening ceremony
In the United States, the ceremony airs on NBC, streams live on Peacock, and carries Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo. NBCUniversal holds exclusive US Olympic broadcast rights, extended in a March 2025 deal worth around $3 billion that runs all the way through the 2034 Winter and 2036 Summer Games. With the 5 p.m. Pacific / 8 p.m. Eastern start, expect a primetime presentation. Peacock is the platform to use if you want the full ceremony live and uninterrupted, including the cut-aways between the two stadiums.
Tickets: prices, the 4-ticket cap, and the draw
LA28 priced opening ceremony tickets from $329 at the low end up to $5,519 for premium seats, sold through a draw-based registration system on the official LA28 platform rather than first-come-first-served. Each fan can buy a maximum of four opening-ceremony tickets, and you choose your venue zone, the Coliseum or the Inglewood (2028 Stadium) zone, at purchase. Because demand for an Olympic opening always outstrips supply, the draw decides who gets the chance to buy.
Who's producing it: a Hollywood-led ceremonies team
The creative force behind all four LA28 ceremonies is Peter Rice, the former chairman of Walt Disney Television, named LA28 Head of Ceremonies and Content on July 23, 2025. He's the first major Hollywood studio chief to lead an Olympic opening, and he oversees the production across both the Coliseum and the 2028 Stadium. Given LA's entertainment industry and a producer with that pedigree, the 2028 opening is being built as a television event as much as a stadium one.
Closing and Paralympic ceremony dates at a glance
For the full calendar: the Olympic closing ceremony is July 30, 2028 at the LA Memorial Coliseum. The Paralympic opening ceremony is August 15, 2028 at the 2028 Stadium (SoFi), and the Paralympic closing ceremony is August 27, 2028 back at the Coliseum. So across the summer, the Coliseum bookends the Olympics and closes the Paralympics, while SoFi opens both the Olympic show (shared) and the Paralympics (solo).
The bottom line: an opening unlike any before
The LA 2028 opening ceremony is a genuine Olympic first, two stadiums, one night, one show, on July 14, 2028 at 5 p.m. Pacific. Remember the split: opening at the Coliseum and SoFi, closing at the Coliseum alone. Watch on NBC and Peacock, and if you want to be there, the draw and the $329-to-$5,519 ticket range are your route in. For everything else happening at these Games, see our guide to the 5 new sports at LA 2028 (including cricket's return, covered in our Major League Cricket explainer) and our flag football coaching guide for another LA28 debut sport. The full picture lives on our LA 2028 hub.
Frequently asked questions
When is the LA 2028 Olympic opening ceremony?
The LA 2028 Olympic opening ceremony takes place on Friday, July 14, 2028, starting at 5 p.m. Pacific Time (8 p.m. Eastern). It is uniquely shared across two venues at once: the LA Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park and SoFi Stadium (officially the "2028 Stadium") in Inglewood, the first time an Olympic opening has ever been split between two live stadiums.
Why is the LA 2028 opening ceremony at two stadiums?
The dual-venue format exists because both stadiums double as competition sites. The Coliseum hosts Athletics in week one and SoFi hosts Swimming in week two, so LA28 moved the traditional schedule around. Splitting the opening between them lets each venue debut its Olympic role on night one before the pool at SoFi is uncovered and finished for the swimming events.
How can I watch the LA 2028 opening ceremony in the US?
NBCUniversal holds exclusive US Olympic rights through 2036 under a deal extended in March 2025, so the LA 2028 opening ceremony airs on NBC, streams live on Peacock, and carries Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo. Expect a primetime presentation given the 5 p.m. PDT / 8 p.m. EDT start. Peacock is the only platform guaranteed to carry the full ceremony live and uninterrupted.
How much do LA 2028 opening ceremony tickets cost?
LA28 priced Olympic opening ceremony tickets from $329 up to $5,519 per seat, sold through a draw-based registration system on the official LA28 platform rather than first-come sales. Fans can buy a maximum of four tickets to the opening ceremony, and they choose a venue zone, the Coliseum or the Inglewood (2028 Stadium) zone, when they purchase.
Will the Coliseum really host three Olympic Games?
Yes. The LA Memorial Coliseum staged the 1932 and 1984 Olympics, and in 2028 it becomes the first venue in history to host events for three Olympic Games. An LA City Council vote in late 2025 confirmed the Coliseum as the sole closing-ceremony venue on July 30, 2028, cementing its place as one of the only buildings worldwide to host three opening or closing ceremonies.
Who is in charge of the LA 2028 opening ceremony?
Peter Rice, the former chairman of Walt Disney Television and a longtime Hollywood executive, was named LA28 Head of Ceremonies and Content on July 23, 2025. He is the lead executive producer for all four ceremonies and is the first major Hollywood studio chief to oversee an Olympic opening. Rice shapes the creative vision and production across both the Coliseum and the 2028 Stadium.
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