Public ticket sales for the Los Angeles Olympics have officially begun, as announced by the organizing committee on Thursday. Tickets are now available globally.
“We’re excited about the tremendous interest in Olympic tickets and can’t wait to welcome millions to Los Angeles in 2028,” said LA28 CEO Reynold Huber in a press release.
This global ticket launch follows early sales in host cities, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City, which saw substantial local participation prior to the general release.
However, many fans reported frustrations while accessing the ticketing site—facing sold-out events, inflated prices, and even “Access Denied” errors. Adding to the confusion, StubHub is set to start listing tickets at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Still, LA28 clarified that no tickets have been confirmed for resale yet.
“The success of the local presale speaks volumes. We sold hundreds of thousands of $28 tickets—this is the lowest-priced Olympic ticket ever,” Huber stated.
There’s been significant demand right from the start. Organizers have noted that millions of residents are registered to buy tickets, with some sports already exceeding inventory even before general sales kicked off.
Almost half of the tickets are priced under $200, and more than 75% are available for under $400, including some finals.
Additionally, over 1 million tickets will be sold at just $28. However, premium seats for high-demand events will exceed $1,000, although these only represent about 5% of the total tickets.
Purchasers were caught off-guard by a 24% service fee. For instance, a ticket priced at $340 ended up costing nearly $400 once the fee was applied.
Despite LA28’s claims of being affordable, many locals expressed dissatisfaction regarding ticket prices.
In one instance, a fan shared he spent $6,285.20 on 12 tickets—his purchases included four tickets for the mixed semifinals in tennis, four for the men’s soccer finals, and four for the men’s baseball finals.
Other fans reported that they couldn’t find inexpensive options during the presale period.
“I couldn’t get any of the cheaper tickets,” said Max Link, who had his eye on tennis matches. “It was all very unclear how ticket distribution worked. Maybe the $28 tickets just don’t exist for popular events,” he speculated.
“I was happy there were tickets available for residents; it felt like my California taxes were finally paying off,” another fan, Jani Asthma, mentioned. “But I’m really disappointed and might not be able to attend.”
Looking ahead, organizers are expanding availability worldwide with their first global ticket release, Drop 1. It runs until April 19 and will be accessible through a lottery system, where selected individuals will receive time slots to log in and buy tickets for key events, including the opening and closing ceremonies.
Officials are attempting to balance high demand with affordability, a challenge faced in previous Olympics.
Strict guidelines are in place for ticket purchases. Buyers have a 30-minute checkout window after adding tickets to their cart. Each individual can buy up to 12 tickets for Olympic events, and another 12 for soccer matches. This includes up to four tickets for both the opening and closing ceremonies.
Additional opportunities will be available to those who didn’t get selected. Those who registered but missed out will be automatically entered into future drawings, with more opportunities planned in the coming months.
Ticket sales for the Paralympic Games are set to begin in 2027 through a separate lottery system.
Los Angeles will become the third city ever to host the Olympic Games three times after previously hosting in 1932 and 1984, and it will also hold the Paralympic Games for the first time. More than 15,000 athletes are expected to participate across Southern California.
But for now, ticket demand has surged, making securing them possibly one of the toughest challenges of the Olympics.
