How to Watch LA 2028: Dates, Time Zones & Key Days
When the Games run, how the time zone works in your favor (or not), and the days worth clearing your calendar for.
The LA 2028 Olympics run from the Opening Ceremony on Friday, July 14, 2028 to the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, July 30, with a couple of team sports kicking off on July 12. Here’s how to plan your viewing.
The time-zone advantage
Los Angeles sits in Pacific Time (UTC−7 in July). For North American viewers this is close to ideal — evening finals in LA land in prime time across the continent. For Europe, LA’s evening sessions fall in the small hours; for Asia and Australia, the morning-in-LA sessions are the friendlier ones. Whatever your location, convert the LA session time to your own before planning — it’s the difference between watching live and watching the replay.
Days worth circling
- July 14 — Opening Ceremony.
- Week one — track and field takes center stage early in this edition, so the blue-riband athletics finals come sooner than usual.
- Week two — swimming’s finals headline the back half, an unusual and welcome change of pace.
- Final weekend — a cluster of team-sport gold-medal matches lands together in an unofficial “Super Saturday,” before the Closing Ceremony on July 30.
Spoiler-free planning
If you’re watching on delay, beware of scores leaking through notifications and social feeds. The most reliable approach is to decide in advance which sessions you’ll watch, avoid live results until you do, and use a schedule (like Torch) to line up what’s coming rather than what’s already happened.
Quick answers
When are the LA 2028 Olympics?
The Opening Ceremony is Friday, July 14, 2028 and the Closing Ceremony is Sunday, July 30. A couple of team sports start earlier, on July 12.
What time zone are the LA28 Olympics in?
Pacific Time, UTC−7 in July. Evening finals in Los Angeles land in prime time across North America; for Europe they fall in the small hours, and for Asia and Australia the morning-in-LA sessions are the friendlier ones.
Which days of LA28 are worth circling?
July 14 for the Opening Ceremony, the first week for the blue-riband athletics finals, the second week for swimming’s finals, and the final weekend, when a cluster of team-sport gold-medal matches lands together before the Closing Ceremony.