Q&A: Everything you need to know about the second LA28 Olympics ticket drop

After 4 million tickets sold and maybe a million more headaches, the Olympic ticket booth opens again this week.

LA28 sold a record number of tickets during its first drop in April, signaling unprecedented interest in the Olympics as they return to Southern California for the first time since 1984. High prices, service fees and unavailable seats frustrated fans but did not deter them. In fact, interest in the Games has only grown since April’s first drop.

LA28 announced Wednesday that more than 12 million people from more than 200 countries have registered for tickets, a dramatic increase from the 5 million registrants the organizing committee boasted in late February before the first ticket drop.

Sports from the traditional standbys (artistic gymnastics) to the newest additions (flag football, lacrosse and squash) all sold through their first-drop availability. The second drop that begins Wednesday offers “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports,” LA28 said.

Here’s what to know about the next ticketing phase:

A delegation led by Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom brings the Olympic flag to Los Angeles following the Paris Olympics.

(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

The presale for registered Visa cardholders starts Wednesday and ends Friday. If you got a time slot to purchase tickets during the presale, your transaction must be completed with a Visa card. Those who registered for the presale but didn’t get notified by email, and thus did not get a time slot, were automatically entered into Drop 2, which is from Aug. 10-20. Time slot notifications for Drop 2 will hit inboxes between Aug. 6-7.

Similar to the first drop, each time slot is open for 48 hours. Multiple purchases can be made during the 48-hour window but tickets are only held in your cart for 30 minutes.

LA28 said the second drop will have “refreshed” supply for all sports “at a range of price points.” But the organizing committee did not disclose specifics about how many tickets or which sessions would be available. So you just have to log in, shop around and find out.

The opaque messaging causes confusion and frustration for fans, especially those looking for a specific ticket to their one and only favorite sport. But the ticket supply is ever-changing. Some venues are trying to add additional seating capacity after the first sales period brought higher-than-anticipated interest. Certain tickets need to be reserved for stakeholders and could later be released back into the general pool. Ironing out each one of those details changes the availability of tickets each day of each drop. Be patient and flexible. Maybe you’ll end up discovering a new favorite sport.

Olympics

LA28 releases details on second Olympics ticket sales drop

Before the second Olympic ticket drop officially begins Aug. 10, LA28 announced Wednesday there will be a presale for Visa cardholders from July 29-31.

June 10, 2026

Each account holder can buy up to 12 Olympic tickets across all drops, then an additional 12 soccer tickets that don’t count toward the general ticket maximum. There is also a four-ticket-per-ceremony maximum and those count toward the general 12-ticket maximum.

For example, let’s say you bought four beach volleyball tickets and four rugby tickets during the first drop. You can buy up to four more tickets to any non-soccer sports/ceremony to reach the 12-ticket general maximum and up to 12 more soccer tickets during this drop.

If you already bought four beach volleyball tickets and four for soccer, you can buy eight general tickets and eight for soccer during the second drop.

Tickets purchased through packages offered by hospitality partner On Location do not count toward the 12-ticket limit.

AVP League players compete on Alamitos Beach, which will host 2028 Olympics beach volleyball competition.

(Arwen Clemans/Los Angeles Times)

Unfortunately, no. LA28 said all lotteries are random to preserve fairness for those who entered.

If you’ve registered already, you don’t need to register again for future drops. You’ll be automatically entered into the next Olympic ticket lottery until you’ve purchased your maximum 12 tickets. You’ll also be automatically entered into any Paralympic ticket lotteries for when Paralympic sales begin in 2027.

Half of the total 1 million $28 tickets were snapped up in the locals presale in April. That doesn’t include any additional $28 tickets that could have been sold during the global Drop 1 period. So there are less than half a million $28 tickets left, but with the most affordable tickets spread across so many different sports, finding one during your available time slot could feel like winning a ticket lottery a second time.

Rams running back Blake Corum poses with representatives from the Brotherhood Crusade, one of the nonprofit groups that received free 2028 Olympic tickets on Monday.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

LA28’s community ticket program made its first donation this week by partnering with the Rams to give 1,000 free tickets to 10 local nonprofits. The first recipients were chosen through existing partnerships with the Rams and LA28 and for their work with local youth near Olympic venues.

The program is now open to other organizations. Organizations interested in accessing tickets can fill out a form at la28.org. The program, which began with a $5-million gift from the Rams, aims to provide free tickets to local community groups, particularly those serving youth, families and other individuals who may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend the L.A. Games, according to LA28.

Free tickets provided through the program will be for different sessions and zones across the Olympics and Paralympics. The first donation announced Monday gave local kids seats to flag football or swimming events, two of the most in-demand sports at the Games.

Ticket sales are final and cannot be canceled. However, the official resale program will open in 2027. When the platform opens, fans who don’t want to attend the events they purchased tickets for can list their tickets for resale and get money back through the secondary market. LA28’s official secondary ticket marketplace is AXS and Eventim and other verified resale platforms will include Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets.

However, resale prices, whether you’re purchasing or selling, can be a moving target. Since participants for each session are not determined yet, expect secondary ticket demand and prices to fluctuate once the schedule is clearer.

Any tickets listed for resale before the official platform opens cannot be verified by LA28.

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If you’re hoping to nab tickets to the LA28 Olympics in the second drop coming in August, you might want to brace yourself.

May 7, 2026

Digital tickets were distributed for previous Olympic and Paralympic Games through an app. But LA28’s official ticketing app has not been finalized yet. For now, just hold on to your email confirmation forms; you’ve done the hard work already.

When the app is released, fans can download it to their phones and enter their account information to get their tickets. You will also be able to transfer tickets digitally through the app, so if you bought tickets for family members of friends, they will be able to accept the transfer in the app.

The Coliseum will co-host the opening ceremony and host the track and-field competition and the closing ceremony during the 2028 Olympics.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

The current wave of ticket sales will be only for a category of seats, but won’t have a particular seat assignment yet. The specific seats will be assigned at a later date closer to Games time. LA28 said it can’t guarantee all your tickets to the same event in the same seat category will be placed together in the venue, but the committee will try to assign seats made in the same transaction together at least.

The reason why LA28 isn’t selling individual seats right now is because venue configurations are still ongoing. Even existing venues that are used to staging massive events will not have the same seating capacity and layout as normal because the Olympics requires special staging areas and stakeholder seating for Olympic family members, media or officials.

As the Games approach, when venue designs are finalized, seats are assigned and tickets open to a first-come, first-served basis, there will likely be other chances to buy tickets with special seat assignments attached.