2028 Olympic torch relay to start in Atlanta, span all 50 states before reaching LA

ATHENS, GREECE - APRIL 26: The Paris 2024 Olympic flame is handed over to a delegation from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee during a symbolic flame handover ceremony at Panathenaic stadium in Athens, Greece on April 23, 2024. (Photo by Costas Baltas/Anadolu via Getty Images) | Photo Credit: Anadolu

The torch relay for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 will begin in Atlanta, home of the last U.S. Summer Games in 1996, and travel through all 50 states, organisers announced Tuesday.

The Olympic flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, before beginning its journey around the United States in spring 2028. The full route for the torch relay will be announced in 2027.

LA28 organizers say the relay will be one of the largest in Olympic history, passing through iconic and internationally renowned landmarks, stopping at major cultural and sporting events and hosting festival celebrations in select cities nationwide.

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“Every Olympic Games begins with a single flame, and carrying that flame to Los Angeles is an honor and privilege that we’ll share with every corner of the country, as Americans in all 50 states carry the flame on its path to our Opening Ceremony,” LA28 chair and president Casey Wasserman said in a statement.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said the city will be proud to welcome the Olympic flame back 32 years after hosting the centennial Summer Games.

“Atlanta looks a little different. We are bigger. We are more connected to the world. So, when the flame returns to the U.S., Atlanta will be ready,” Dickens said in a statement. “Ready to welcome it from Greece. Ready to celebrate the spirit of the Games together as a community. And ready to send it forward toward Los Angeles and the next chapter of America’s Olympic story.”

The Paralympic torch relay will follow the end of the Olympics in August 2028, with the flame originating in Stoke Mandeville, England, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement. The relay’s U.S. starting location will be announced later.

Both torch relays will be sponsored by Coca-Cola, JPMorganChase, Allstate and Xfinity.