Olympic Fans Fume as 2028 LA Games Ticket Lottery Opening Turns Into a Long, Frustrating Wait

14 January 2026

Casey Wasserman, chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee, speaks at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., on January 13. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

When registration opened on January 14, 2026 for the ticket lottery to attend the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, excitement quickly spilled over into frustration for eager fans around the world who found themselves stuck in long virtual queues trying to secure their chance at seats for what organizers promise will be one of the most accessible Games in history. Early on the morning registration went live, thousands of hopeful spectators logged on simultaneously to enter the randomized draw that will determine who gets access to purchase tickets when sales begin in earnest later this year, but the massive surge of traffic created hold-ups and extended wait times that left many questioning whether attending the Los Angeles Olympics might be harder than scoring front-row concert seats to the biggest pop acts.

The LA28 ticket registration website, the first step toward buying seats for events that will run from July 14 to July 30, 2028 opened precisely at 7 a.m. Pacific Time on that Wednesday, marking a milestone nearly two and a half years before the Opening Ceremony will light up the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Fans have until March 18 to sign up for the lottery, which will allocate buyers random time slots in April when they can attempt to buy tickets ranging from more affordable $28 options for popular events to pricier seats for marquee competitions. It has been described by organizers as an effort to make the Olympics more inclusive than in years past, with roughly a third of all tickets priced under $100, more than 14 million total seats expected to be available for both Olympic and Paralympic competition.

But for many users, the process of simply entering their name into the lottery was fraught with digital gridlock. Messages warning of heavy demand appeared shortly after launch, accompanied by virtual waiting rooms that left people stuck for upwards of an hour at a time before they could reach the registration portal. On social media platforms, frustrated fans described being bounced back into holding queues or seeing their screens cycle through messages that offered little more than an assurance that their place in line would be “maintained,” as LA28 organizers put it in a statement acknowledging the overwhelming interest and promising to work on reducing delays.

The high demand was hardly a surprise: Los Angeles is expected to host the largest Olympic Games in history, with more than 11,000 athletes from around the globe competing across 51 sports, from track and field in the storied Coliseum to surfing at Trestles Beach in Southern California. With only 14 million tickets available, including many budget-friendly options and a special presale window for locals in Southern California and portions of Oklahoma where some events will take place, interest has been virtually universal, drawing registrants from over 150 countries even in these early stages of the ticket timeline.

But the thrill of anticipation quickly collided with the reality of demand that outpaced the ticketing infrastructure on day one, leading many prospective spectators to trade jokes about their experience on social feeds. Some quipped that trying to get into the LA28 ticket system was more grueling than some Olympic qualifying competitions, comparing the long wait times to the frenzy that greets major concert or festival ticket drops. For others the experience was more than just a punchline, as repeated page reloads, digital waiting rooms and intermittent glitches tested the patience of international fans already lining up for what many hope will be a once-in-a-lifetime sporting event.

Organizers doorkeepers from the LA28 committee were quick to temper expectations with reminders that registrations still have plenty of time to be submitted before the March deadline, and that the lottery system is designed to give all registered fans an equal shot at buying tickets, regardless of when they entered during the registration window. Once the lottery closes, selected participants will be notified by email between March 31 and April 7 with an assigned time slot to buy tickets during the first sales period from April 9 to April 19. Locals with billing addresses in key Southern California and Oklahoma counties will also receive a separate presale window from April 2 to April 6, giving them a head start at certain events.

That structure intended to balance fairness with local access has not soothed all fans, however, many of whom are keen to avoid the kind of secondary market price surges and scalping that have plagued other major global sports events. Some have taken to online forums to advise one another on the best times to try logging in or to offer tips on navigating the digital queues without losing their spot. Others are already weighing backup plans for how to experience the Games even if they are not successful in the initial lottery, pointing to official resale platforms and volunteer opportunities as alternatives.

For now the long lines of code and congestion on the LA28 registration page stand as a vivid early chapter in what will unquestionably be one of the most anticipated global sporting spectacles of the decade. With the Olympic flame still years away from its official lighting and ticket lotteries only just begun, millions of fans remain on standby, eager to turn anticipation into tickets, and ultimately into memories of what promises to be an unforgettable Summer Games on the streets, stadiums and scenic venues of Los Angeles.