Los Angeles Olympic Ticket Registration Opens with Issues
LOS ANGELES — The ticketing system for the 2028 Summer Olympics kicked off on Wednesday, but not without some complications. Fans reported getting trapped in what felt like an “infinite loop of waiting times.”
Shortly after registration began at 7 a.m. Pacific Time, many users found themselves repeatedly rerouted to a virtual waiting room, rather than being taken to the ticket lottery sign-up page.
One Angeleno, Jim Carter, didn’t hold back, calling the experience a “st show.” He shared, “An endless loop of waiting > clicking register > waiting in the queue again. I can’t believe something like this will happen in 2026.”
Another user expressed frustration, stating that after spending 30 minutes in the digital line, she had to restart the process entirely. After being sent back to the waiting room again, she found herself waiting another 40 minutes before finally reaching the registration page, only to encounter a server error.
It seemed clear to her that they weren’t ready for the traffic surge.
This hiccup came as the organizing committee aims to sell a record 14 million tickets across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would exceed the 12 million sold during the Paris Olympics.
However, the issues appeared to resolve relatively quickly. After waiting anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes, several Post staff members successfully registered for the lottery, and by early Wednesday morning, wait times had noticeably decreased.
The registration is a lengthy process, running until March 18th, giving everyone who pre-registers the chance to enter a lottery for ticket purchases. Fans who could finally get through said the experience was worth the trouble.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a global event right here in our backyard,” said resident Megan Gallagher. She logged in not long after the ticket registration started and ended up waiting over two hours, including more than an hour in the virtual queue. After entering her code from an email, she saw an error but realized that the system saved her place when she logged back in.
The first chance for ticket purchases will take place during the Locals Presale for Southern California residents from April 2nd to April 6th, 2026, followed by the global ticket drop scheduled for April 9th to April 19th.
