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:
Growing up in Inglewood, Andrew Hernandez heard plenty about the Olympics. Since L.A. was awarded the Games almost a decade ago, the 18-year-old watched preparations slowly improve the infrastructure of his hometown. He still never thought he would ever be able to attend.
Until now.
LA28 and the Rams donated 1,000 free tickets to 10 nonprofit organizations Monday, giving local youth such as Hernandez a seat at Olympic flag football or swimming competitions in 2028.
The tickets are the first gifts from LA28’s community ticket program, which launched in November with a $5 million inaugural donation from the Rams. When Rams coach Sean McVay delivered the news to members of the nonprofits at Rams training camp Monday, kids’ jaws dropped as the group broke into applause.
Hernandez, a member of South L.A.-based Brotherhood Crusade, posed in the group behind a giant commemorative Olympic ticket.
“Having grown up in Inglewood, you don’t really have the funds to [go to sporting events],” Hernandez said. “So if it wasn’t for programs like this or the Rams giving out tickets, a person like me, I would have never had imagined I’d be in a stadium watching the game. It’s opened my eyes.”
In addition to Brotherhood Crusade, A Place Called Home, After School All-Stars, Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro L.A., Heart of Los Angeles, Project Blue, Social Justice Learning Institute, Swim Up Hill and YMCA of Metro L.A. were selected by the Rams and LA28 for their investment in local youth and their presence in communities near Olympic venues.
“The local organizations receiving these tickets today are groups that we work closely with year-round to uplift and support our neighbors all across the Los Angeles region,” Rams president Kevin Demoff said in a statement. “This investment ensures that the people and nonprofits that commit themselves to Los Angeles are able to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event right in their hometown.”
The Boys & Girls Club Metro L.A. started increasing awareness about the Games about three years ago. Members, ranging from 6 to 18 years old, participated in youth Olympic events and met Olympic and Paralympic athletes. But as excitement for the Games grew, many kids were already saying they couldn’t afford to go. They asked Kim Washington, the club’s vice president of philanthropy and marketing, whether they could at least watch events on TV at the club.
“Having this opportunity to have tickets for these kids and families, it’s going to be beyond their wildest dreams,” said Washington, who volunteered in the opening ceremony at the 1984 L.A. Olympics.
Rams running back Blake Corum, left, signs a T-shirt during an L.A. Olympics ticket donation ceremony at Rams training camp on Monday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Each organization will distribute tickets directly to members. The donated tickets are for two of the most in-demand Olympic sports. Flag football is making its Olympic debut and was among the new sports that sold out through its ticketing availability during the first ticket drop. Swimming, one of the marquee sports of the Summer Games, will take place in SoFi Stadium, which will be transformed into the largest Olympic swimming venue in history.
Paralympic swimmer Jamal Hill founded Swim Up Hill with a goal to teach underprivileged children how to swim. The 2021 bronze medalist primarily works with second to fourth-graders, with a significant number coming from the L.A. Unified School District. Some have already voiced ambitions to become Olympians or Paralympians.
“You see something happen, something that you consider magnificent or magical … it says, ‘Wow, now I want to do this,’” Hill said. “Whether or not you end up doing that, it puts you on a path of just thinking bigger, going above and beyond, having the incentive of self-driven goals that just ultimately build better community members.”
After selling a record 4 million tickets in the first drop this year, Olympic tickets go back on sale this week. Fans who registered for the ticket lottery with a Visa credit card received information Monday about time slots to purchase tickets during the Visa presale that runs July 29-31. Email notifications for time slots in the second drop that begins Aug. 10 and lasts until Aug. 20 will hit inboxes between Aug. 6-7.
When Olympic tickets went on sale in April, fans were shocked and frustrated at high prices, a 24% service fee and limited availability for key events. LA28 has tried to keep tickets affordable, but hearing that nearly half of the tickets are under $200, including the service fee, and 75% are under $400 is still a steep price for many fans. Half of the 1 million tickets priced at $28 were scooped up during the locals presale in April, but more will be made available in the next drop.
Individuals, organizations and community leaders interested in participating in LA28’s community ticket program can access more information at la28.org. The Rams’ initial $5-million donation is expected to fund several more ticket donations to local organizations in the coming months.
Although he grew up near SoFi Stadium, Hernandez, who will be a freshman at San José State in the fall studying civil engineering, had never attended a major live sports event until this year. Through Brotherhood Crusade, he went to a Rams game. It only made him more excited for future opportunities.
“It almost helped me with my goals,” Hernandez said. “I’m like, ‘You know what, I want to be in that space again.’ I want to be able to afford a ticket and go to games. That’s kind of why I want to go to college, want to get an engineering degree, and make sure that maybe I can take my kids one day to a Rams game. The next time the Olympics come back, I can be able to get my own ticket and go.”
BuzzFeed is cutting roughly 35% of its workforce in its first major restructuring since media mogul Byron Allen bought a majority stake in the firm two months ago.
The layoffs, outlined in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Monday, will affect about 180 staff and contract positions across BuzzFeed and its sister brands HuffPost and Tasty.
“We’ve been actively managing costs for some time, working through scenarios to save as many jobs as possible,” BuzzFeed’s leadership team said in the memo. “Unfortunately, the elimination of certain roles is still required.”
The company, which maintains a Hollywood office, said the changes are necessary to “put our business on a path to profitable and sustainable growth.”
Through the restructuring, BuzzFeed’s leaders said, the company will aim to grow its audience and bolster its positon in free streaming content.
The BuzzFeed purchase is the latest in a series of business moves Allen has made in recent years to build his entertainment empire. The former stand-up comedian recently purchased a portion of CBS’s late-night block earlier this year, taking over the time slot for the 2026-2027 season. The slot once belonged to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which was canceled last year and aired its final episode in May.
Allen’s company holds a slate of network-affiliate stations and owns the Weather Channel network. The company bought a 10.7% stake in cable channel Starz for $25 million in March.
Allen could not be reached for a comment on the new layoffs at BuzzFeed.
In its own statement, BuzzFeed said “We are extremely fortunate that Byron has enormous confidence in our management team and moved very quickly to reposition this company and unlock its value.”
BuzzFeed was founded in 2006. The website became known as a pop culture hub, where readers could indulge in the latest celebrity gossip or discover a unique cooking recipe. But over the years, the company has declined and faced mounting financial struggles. BuzzFeed reported a $15-million net loss in the first quarter of the year. The company generated $31.6 million in revenue, a 12.4% decline compared to the year-ago period. Ad revenue fell nearly 20% year-over-year to $17.1 million. However, content revenue grew roughly 69% to $7.5 million. The company is expected to release its second-quarter results Aug. 4.
Times Staff Writers Meg James and Stacy Perman contributed to this report.
LA28 reserved the first Olympic tickets for locals. To kick off the second round of ticket sales, it’s a sponsorship connection that could help fans get to the front of the line.
Before the second Olympic ticket drop officially begins Aug. 10, LA28 announced Wednesday there will be a presale for Visa cardholders that will run from July 29-31.
Visa has sponsored the Olympics for 40 years and is the only credit card accepted for payment in Olympic zones. For a chance to be selected for the presale, fans need to first confirm their status as a Visa cardholder. Fans who have already registered can log into their existing LA28 ticket account, check the “Visa presale box” and save changes. New registrants must select the Visa cardholder option during the registration process. All ticket sales during the presale must be completed with a Visa credit card.
Fans can register for the second ticket drop at tickets.la28.org until July 22. Those who already registered for Drop 1 but weren’t selected or didn’t purchase their full 12-ticket allotment do not have to sign up again and are automatically entered into the lottery for Drop 2, which will run from Aug. 10-20.
Fans who are randomly selected for the Visa presale will be notified of their time slot on July 27. Those who aren’t selected for the presale remain eligible for a time slot in Drop 2. Email notifications for Drop 2 time slots will go out from Aug. 6-7.
The second ticket drop will offer tickets across all Olympic sports at a range of price points, LA28 said in a statement, subject to inventory availability. Prices start at $28 for individual tickets, but of the total 1 million $28 Olympic tickets, half were scooped up during the Drop 1 presale that was reserved for locals living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.
April’s ticketing debut frustrated fans who were surprised by high prices, a 24% service fee on every ticket and limited inventory for key events. Still, LA28 sold 4 million tickets across 85 countries, a historic number that had International Olympic Committee officials giddy for the potential of the 2028 Games.
“What we thought we were going to sell, and what we thought we were going to get for people who registered for interest, we exceeded those by magnitudes,” LA28 Chief Executive Officer Reynold Hoover told The Times on June 4 after IOC members visited L.A. “We were able to set Olympic records in terms of sale, but I think the broader picture about all of that is people want to be a part of something really big and be part of something here in L.A., a part of history.”
LA28, the organizing committee behind L.A.’s first Olympics in 40 years, expects to generate $2.5 billion in ticketing and hospitality to support what has been advertised as a privately funded Games. The estimated $7.1-billion operations budget is also buoyed by $2.5 billion in expected sponsorship revenue. LA28 already has $2 billion in domestic partnership money.
