Los Angeles 2028 Olympics organizers announced the daily competition schedule for the Games that will have a record 351 medal events.
Action starts on Wednesday, July 12, 2028 — two days before the Opening Ceremony, as usual — with preliminary competition in basketball, cricket, field hockey, handball, rugby sevens, soccer and water polo.
It will mark the most sports to have competition before the day of the Opening Ceremony since the 1920 Antwerp Games, according to the OlyMADMen.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, preliminary competition in archery, handball, rugby sevens and soccer was held before the Opening Ceremony.
LA 2028 will mark the first time that basketball games will be held on a day before the Opening Ceremony date since the 1952 Helsinki Games, according to the OlyMADMen.
The sport-by-sport schedule with dates and time windows is here. Further schedule details by event are expected to be announced later in 2025.
On July 14, the day of the Opening Ceremony (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT), one sport will have competition. Canoe slalom will be held at the Oklahoma City Whitewater Center. Softball will also be held in Oklahoma City in the second week of the Games — at Devon Park, the annual host of the NCAA Women’s College World Series.
On July 15, the first medals of the Games will be awarded in triathlon, which will be held along Venice Beach.
The middle weekend — July 22-24 — will have medal events in artistic gymnastics, swimming and track and field that Saturday, Sunday and Monday. At the Paris Games, there were medal events in those three sports on two days of the middle weekend for the first time since 1988.
As previously announced, track and field and swimming will switch places in the Olympic schedule — track and field in the first week and swimming in the second week. The switch will aid SoFi Stadium’s transition from co-hosting the Opening Ceremony with the LA Memorial Coliseum on July 14 to becoming the first NFL stadium to host Olympic swimming starting July 22.
Swimming is slated to host the final medal events of the Games on Sunday, July 30 between 3-4:30 p.m. local time before the Closing Ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Coliseum.
The marathons will still be held on the last weekend of the Games, keeping with tradition.
Flag football, which makes its Olympic debut, will be in the first week from July 15-22. If NFL players take part, having that competition early could be helpful given NFL preseason training camps typically open in mid-to-late July with preseason games ramping up in early August.
Baseball, which returns to the Games, will also be in the first week from July 15-20 at Dodger Stadium (which hosted baseball as a demonstration sport at the 1984 LA Games). Though Major League Baseball has not yet decided whether to allow active big leaguers to participate in the Olympics for the first time, note that the MLB All-Star breaks the past five seasons have been: July 12-14, 18-20, 10-13, 15-18 and 14-17.
There will be more women’s quota places than men’s quota places at the Olympics for the first time.
