The triumph, heartbreak, and baguettes of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad closed out in spectacular Olympic fashion this weekend with the literal torch being passed to Los Angeles, the next Olympic host city. With Paris in the record books and cultural rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead and start planning for the next Olympic Games.
The next Olympic Games
The Italian cities of Milan and Cortina will co-host the next Olympic Games in February 2026. The XXV Olympic Winter Games, also known as Milano Cortina 2026, is scheduled for February 6 through February 22, 2026.
The next Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles from July 14 through July 30, 2028. Los Angeles previously hosted the games in 1984 and 1932.
Two 2028 Olympic events—softball and canoe slalom—will be held in Oklahoma City, 1,300 miles from the rest of the games. Officially, this is part of an effort to only use existing sports facilities in L.A. to keep costs down.
How to get tickets to the Winter Olympics in 2026
If you’re going to be in Italy in February 2026 and you’d like to check out some Winter Olympics action, you can sign up for the ticket reservation lottery program now. You can’t buy tickets for the Winter Olympics until February 2025, though. Signing up for the draw doesn’t mean you’re committed to buying tickets, so if there’s even a chance you’d go, it makes sense to put your name down.
How to get tickets to the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028
Four years out is a little too early for specific details on Olympics ticket sales, but if you want to know the details as soon as they are available, you can sign up for the email list at the LA Olympics’ official website.
If you want to really plan ahead, check out the site for the 2032 Games in Brisbane.
What we can expect to see at the upcoming Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Games will feature 116 events in these 16 winter sports:
Cross-country skiing
Ice hockey
Freestyle skiing
Short track speed skating
Figure skating
Snowboard
Alpine skiing
Bobsleigh
Skeleton
Luge
Ski jumping
Curling
Biathlon
Speed skating
Nordic combined
Ski mountaineering
This is the first time ski mountaineering will be featured at the Olympics. “Skimo” involves athletes skiing up a mountain, then skiing back down. It combines elements of climbing, cross-country skiing, and backcountry downhill skiing. I’m sold. Here’s a video to give you a taste:
What we can expect to see at the next Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics is expected to include at least 35 sports, including 27 “core” sports. Skateboarding, surfing, and sport climbing have been promoted from optional to core sports in 2028. Boxing is currently on the opposite trajectory and may be removed from the games entirely. More on that below.
The LA Summer Olympics will feature five new and returning optional sports: baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash. Here’s the full list of 2028’s sports:
Aquatics (swimming, diving, open-water, synchronized swimming, and water polo)
Archery
Badminton
Baseball and softball
Basketball
Boxing*
Canoe / Kayak
Cricket
Cycling (track, road, mountain Bike, and BMX)
Equestrian
Fencing
Flag Football
Soccer
Golf
Gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic, and trampolining)
Handball
Hockey
Judo
Lacrosse
Modern pentathlon
Rowing
Rugby 7s
Sailing
Shooting
Skateboarding (street and park)
Sport Climbing (bouldering, lead and speed combined climbing)
Squash
Surfing
Table Tennis
Taekwondo
Tennis
Track & Field
Triathlon
Volleyball (indoor and beach)
Weightlifting
Wrestling (Greco-Roman and freestyle)
Boxing is not confirmed for LA 2028. There currently isn’t an Olympics-approved governing body for boxing, and, according to the IOC, if a new governing body doesn’t step up, boxing won’t be included in the Olympics program.
