LA28 released detailed daily competition schedule of the biggest Olympic Games in history on Wednesday, which will cover all the events across 19 days of competition that will feature more than 11,000 athletes in 51 sports.
In addition to being the largest Games in history, 2028 Summer Olympics will be the first in which there will be more female athletes than male ones. The schedule marks a historic moment for women in sport by featuring the women's 100m final at the Coliseum as the main event on the first official day of competition on July 15, 2028.
“The reason we are dropping the women's 100m on the first day is because we want to come into these Games with renewed vigor.” Shana FergusonThis was stated during a teleconference by the sports director of LA28 and the head of the Games department. “And this race will probably be one of the most popular of all the races at the Games. We just want to start day one with a big showcase of the fastest women in the world.”
The women's 100m final will cap off the first day of competition, which will feature eight women's finals, the most in a single day at the Olympics. The men's 100m final will take place on the second day.
Scheduling the women's final on the first day would require top athletes to run up to three 100m heats in one day, rather than having qualifying on a separate semi-final and final day. Olympic organizers have presented the idea to athlete panels within LA28 and through World Athletics. Although some chose to maintain the status quo in the women's 100m, Janet EvansLA28's head athlete, said most participants simply wanted to know when their races would be so they could plan their training accordingly.
“I think a lot of athletes will immediately look at the schedule and plan their training around it,” said Evans, a four-time Olympic swimmer. “That was certainly a major theme when we made this decision.”
The scheduling was carried out after extensive consultation with athletes and international sports federations. Organizers have adjusted the sun's position for the diving event, which will take place outdoors at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. They wanted to ensure that fans waiting to enter the arena would not be exposed to the sun during midday competition. Tired of the heat that plagued the horses at Santa Anita, they made sure to schedule equestrian events for either early morning or evening.
As track and field sets the stage for the first week, the swimming meet, traditionally held first, was moved to the second week to allow organizers to build an indoor pool at SoFi Stadium after the site hosts its opening ceremony on July 14.
But, following Olympic tradition, the marathon will still take place on the final weekend of the Games, with the women running on Venice Beach on day 15 (July 29) and the men on day 16 (July 30). As one of the final Olympic events, marathon medalists typically receive their medals during the closing ceremony, which takes place at the Coliseum on July 30, starting at 6 p.m.
The 2028 Games are approaching key milestones with the opening ceremony less than three years away. The Paralympic competition schedule will be published later this year. volunteer program has already opened for public opportunities, and applications for Games volunteers will open in the summer of 2026. Registration for tickets to the Olympic Games will open in January 2026.
Fans will be able to begin registering for the lottery in January, and purchasing windows for those selected in the lottery will begin in spring 2026. Prices start at $28. Expressing concerns about sky-high ticket prices for sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup or World Series, Ferguson said LA28 would not use dynamic pricing, but did not provide any pricing details.
Ferguson said the organizing committee has 14 million tickets available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would break the ticket record set by Paris in 2024. The largest Olympic Games and the busiest schedule guarantee such attendance.
“What a huge responsibility we have,” Ferguson said of hosting the biggest Olympic Games in history. “The care and concern that went into putting this competition schedule together, I'll tell you, the guys on the team that did it really did have a lot of sleepless nights because they wanted to get it right for every athlete, no matter the sport.”
