2028 L.A. Games organizers said that they were “met with ‘overwhelming interest’” yesterday after they “began registering people for a lottery system that will be used to dole out tickets” for the event, according to Dominic Fracassa of the S.F. CHRONICLE. People attempting to enter the upcoming ticket lottery were “met with long wait times after the registration website went live” at 7am PT yesterday. When they attempted to register, many were “met with a screen that warned them of high demand and were advised to ‘please hang tight’ while they waited to be redirected to register when a spot in in the digital line opened.” Olympic organizers in a statement said that they were “actively working on decreasing wait times.” Fracassa noted for some, wait times lasted for “over an hour” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/14).
“The Olympic Games returning to Los Angeles in 2028 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to witness history,” LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman said in a statement. “... Fans have already shown up in record-breaking numbers just one day into our ticket registration. The journey is just beginning, and we look forward to an epic and unforgettable experience together in 2028.”
In the first 24 hours of registration, LA28 received more than 1.5 million registrations. According to LA28, that total was more registrations in the first day than Tokyo, Paris and Milan combined (based on day one registrations for Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024 and Milan 2026).
FAN FRUSTRATION: USA TODAY’s Andrés Soto noted a number of fans took to social media to “voice their frustrations over a glitch on the LA28 website that keeps them stuck in an endless holding pattern.” Multiple posts on X indicated that “fans have waited their turn in the queue and when it’s their turn to register for tickets, the link takes them not to the registration page, but back to the homepage where they’re forced to start from the back of the line all over again.” Some fans indicated that they have “gone through this loop multiple times.” However, a spokesperson explained that “the date and time of registration would not affect priority.” LA28 was “unable to provide how many people successfully registered on Wednesday” (USA TODAY 1/14).