Los Angeles Olympics tickets are now open to the public after the organizing committee announced the global start of sales on Thursday.
“We’re thrilled by the level of interest and enthusiasm in tickets to the Games, and we’re ready to welcome millions of others to Los Angeles in 2028,” Reynold Hoover, Chief Executive Officer of LA28, said in a press release.
The global launch follows an exclusive presale for Los Angeles and Oklahoma City — the host cities — which ran through Wednesday, and drew in hundreds of thousands of local residents with priority access.
Many fans who logged on were met with sold-out events, high prices, and even “Access Denied” errors. Adding to the confusion, StubHub will also begin listing tickets starting at 10 a.m Thursday. However, none of the tickets are verified resales, according to LA28.
“The success of the Locals Presale speaks for itself: Hundreds of thousands of $28 tickets — the lowest priced Olympic tickets in modern history — were sold to LA and OKC locals,” Hoover said.
Millions of locals registered for a chance to buy tickets, with interest already exceeding available inventory for several sports before sales even opened to the public, according to organizers.
Nearly half of all tickets are priced under $200, while more than 75% — including some finals — are under $400.
More than one million tickets will be available at the $28 price point. Still, premium seats for high-demand events will climb above $1,000, though they make up only about 5% of total tickets.
The tickets also had an additional 24% service fee, a fact fans were not aware of and only noticed when a $340 ticket for example, at checkout, was nearly $400.
While LA28 maintains that it is providing accessible and reasonable pricing, Los Angeles residents are expressing outrage over the costs.
For instance, one fan told the Post he spent $6,285.20 on 12 tickets, including four to the tennis mixed semifinals ($2,604.64), four to the men’s soccer final ($1,894.52), and four to the men’s baseball final ($1,786.04).
Numerous other fans who spoke with the Post said that during the presale they ended up not buying tickets, especially after failing to find any of the cheaper options.
“I was not able to purchase any of the cheap tickets. It was pretty unclear how those tickets would be distributed. Maybe it’s just a marketing scheme, and there are no $28 tickets for the hottest events,” said Max Link, who had hoped to purchase tennis tickets.
“I was really pleased that they were setting aside tickets for residents, and it made me feel like I was being rewarded for all my years of paying California taxes,” another fan, Asthma Jani, told the Post. “It’s so sad that I might not be able to go.”
Now, organizers are expanding that demand worldwide with the launch of “Drop 1,” the first global ticket release.
The window runs through April 19 and is only accessible to fans who were randomly selected through the LA28 draw system. Those chosen are assigned time slots to log in and purchase tickets for events across the Games, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, depending on availability.
Officials say they are trying to balance demand with affordability — something that has become a sticking point in past Olympic Games.
Buyers have a 30-minute checkout window after adding tickets to their cart. Each person can purchase up to 12 Olympic event tickets and an additional 12 for soccer matches. That includes up to four tickets for the Opening Ceremony in Inglewood and four for the Closing Ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
For those who don’t get selected — or miss their chance — more opportunities are coming.
Organizers say anyone who registered but didn’t secure tickets, or didn’t hit their purchase limit, will automatically be entered into future draws, with additional ticket drops planned in the months ahead.
Paralympic ticket sales are expected to begin through a separate draw in 2027.
The Games themselves are a massive, privately funded operation with a price tag exceeding $7 billion. Revenue will rely heavily on ticket sales, sponsorships and hospitality packages, which are already available through official provider On Location.
Payments will be handled by Visa, the official payment partner of the Olympics.
Organizers are also planning to roll out a verified resale platform in 2027, warning that tickets purchased outside official channels may not be valid.
Los Angeles will become just the third city in history to host the Olympics three times — after 1932 and 1984 — and will also host the Paralympics for the first time. More than 15,000 athletes are expected to compete across venues throughout Southern California.
For now, though, the rush is already on — and with demand surging early, actually getting a ticket may end up being one of the toughest competitions of the Games.
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