Legendary ‘Star Wars,’ ‘E.T.’ Producer Kathleen Kennedy to Oversee 2028 Summer Olympics Ceremonies

Veteran film producer Kathleen Kennedy has been selected to oversee the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2028 Summer Olympics in the greater Los Angeles area, the organizing committee said Wednesday (Oct. 28).

Kennedy will head a team of producers designing the look and content of dual ceremonies that will kick off the Summer Olympics on July 14, 2028, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. She will also lead the team designing the closing ceremony and both ceremonies for the Paralympics, which begin a month later.

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“This appointment reinforces LA28’s commitment to harness the unparalleled creativity, cultural influence and storytelling power of the entertainment capital of the world,” the Olympic organizers said in a statement. The result will be “ceremonies that are distinctly Los Angeles and leave a lasting impression on the global stage.”

At LA28, Kennedy will serve as head of ceremonies and content, a post that had been held by another top entertainment executive, Peter Rice. LA28 said in its announcement that Rice will stay on as an executive producer.

LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman called Kennedy “one of Hollywood’s all-time greats,” adding: “I can’t think of anyone better to conjure the magic of Hollywood than Kathleen.”

In a statement, Kennedy said she and her husband and producing partner, Frank Marshall, had attended almost every Olympics since the Games last came to Los Angeles, in 1984. “Sport remains one of the great unifying experiences we share,” she said.

Kennedy, 73, received an honorary Oscar, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, in 2019, alongside Marshall. She won a Primetime Emmy in 2013 for outstanding special class short-form non-fiction programs for Remembering 9/11.

Kennedy has received eight Oscar nominations for best picture, five of them for films on which she teamed with Steven Spielberg: E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, The Color Purple, Munich, War Horse and Lincoln. Her other best picture nominations are for The Sixth Sense, Seabiscuit and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

In addition to her one Primetime Emmy win, she was nominated for The Special Relationship, I Was There: Boston Marathon Bombings, The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor.

The 2024 Summer Olympics opening and closing ceremonies were overseen by the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee’s creative leadership, led by artistic director Thomas Jolly. Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Gojira were among the artists who performed at the event. The closing ceremony, dubbed the “LA28 Handover Segment,” was overseen by Ben Winston, an executive producer and director. Winston’s company, Fulwell 73, produced the California-based handoff segment featuring Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.