The road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will run through every corner of the United States. Organisers confirmed on Wednesday that the LA28 torch relay will visit all 50 states as the flame makes its way to Los Angeles for the opening ceremony.
The nationwide relay is designed to turn a Games hosted in one city into a shared national event, bringing the flame to communities that will never see an Olympic venue. LA28 says the Games are expected to generate billions of dollars in economic activity across the Los Angeles region, though community groups continue to press organisers on how widely that spending will be shared.
Preparations are accelerating on other fronts, too. Applications to volunteer at the Games open within the week, with Games-time volunteers assignable across eight role categories including communications, ceremonies and driving.
The nonprofit organising committee already employs around 1,000 people, a workforce chief executive Reynold Hoover expects to grow substantially as 2028 approaches. Local businesses around Los Angeles are positioning for the visitor surge, even as some neighbourhoods worry they could miss out on the spending the Games bring.
Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympics for the third time, after 1932 and 1984, and adds the Paralympics for the first time. With the torch route now spanning the entire country, the countdown has effectively begun in all 50 states at once.
