The world got a glimpse of what the next Summer Games in Los Angeles might bring when one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Tom Cruise, made a dramatic leap from the top of a massive Paris stadium during the close of last year’s Olympics.
That death-defying stunt raised expectations for how L.A. will be showcased during the 2028 Summer Games and the entertainment capital is hoping to deliver with Opening and Closing Ceremonies that are so big they will spill over into a second stadium.
This week, organizers announced both the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will host the events that begin and end the California city’s third Olympics. The Coliseum was the site of ceremonies for the 1932 and 1984 Summer Games.
Casey Wasserman, chair of the LA28 organizing committee, said in a statement the arenas were chosen to “highlight Los Angeles’s rich sporting history and cutting-edge future, showcasing the very best that LA has to offer on the world stage.”
He promised the “two extraordinary venues will create an unforgettable experience, welcoming fans from across the globe to an Olympic and Paralympic Games like never before and concluding what will go down as one of the most incredible Games in history.”
Nearly a decade ago, L.A.’s bid for another Summer Games spelled out plans for two separate Opening Ceremonies, according to documents cited by The Sports Examiner, a California-based Olympic news source.
The Coliseum was to “be filled with 70,000 spectators for a Hollywood-produced program of live entertainment, top musical performances and a live viewing and virtual-reality experience of all ceremony events” at the then yet-to-be built home of L.A.’s two National Football League teams.
It’s also where the Olympic Torch Relay would begin its final route to lighting the Olympic cauldron, heading to what became SoFi Stadium, the bid said. There, the official parts of the ceremonies would be simultaneously staged, including the Olympians’ Parade of Nations.
Just like every Olympics, the Opening Ceremonies will end with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron that burns throughout the Games. This time, though, there would be two cauldrons, one in each stadium, according to the documents.
Of course, L.A. organizers aren’t saying much now about their plans, so whether Cruise will make an appearance like he did at the 2024 Summer Games Closing Ceremonies in Paris to help introduce the next Summer Games host remains to be seen.
The Paris Games made history, too, by sending athletes down the Seine River on boats for the Parade of Nations rather than having them simply march into the temporary stadium constructed near the iconic Eiffel Tower.
At Utah’s next Olympics, the 2034 Winter Games, both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies are set to be held at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium, just as they were the first time the state hosted, in 2002.