The road to the 2028 Olympic Games starts in Atlanta!
Today, LA28 announced that its Olympic Torch Relay will travel through all 50 U.S. states, making it one of the largest in Olympic history, before the flame arrives in Los Angeles for the Opening Ceremony.
Atlanta hosted the 1996 Games, the last Summer Games held in the United States. Thirty-two years after that flame went out, the Olympic flame will return to the city to open the relay’s U.S. leg.
The 2028 Olympic torch relay
As per tradition, the flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, birthplace of the Olympic Games, before traveling to the United States to begin its journey across the country in spring 2028. Organizers say it will pass through well-known landmarks, stop at major cultural and sporting events, and stop for festival celebrations in select cities.
Cities, states, communities and partners will work together to carry the torch. Torchbearers are usually chosen through public applications and nominations from community groups, Olympic partners, and local organizations. Paris 2024 featured roughly 10,000 torchbearers, while Milano Cortina 2026 enlisted 10,001 for its Olympic relay.
The full Olympic route will be announced in 2027. Details on torchbearer nominations and additional relay partners will follow in the coming months.
“Every Olympic Games begins with a single flame, and carrying that flame to Los Angeles is an honor and privilege that we’ll share with every corner of the country, as Americans in all 50 states carry the flame on its path to our Opening Ceremony,” said LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the city is ready to welcome the flame from Greece and send it on toward Los Angeles. “Atlanta was proud to carry that flame in 1996,” he said. “We will be proud to welcome it back.”
The Paralympic relay will follow the end of the Olympic Games in August 2028. Its flame will originate in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, birthplace of the Paralympic Movement. LA28 has not yet announced where the relay will begin in the U.S.
You can find updates on LA28’s Torch Relay page and at @LA28TorchRelays on Instagram.
