LA28 Olympic torch relay will visit all 50 US states starting in Atlanta

Route across all 50 states

The domestic torch relay for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will visit all 50 US states, beginning its journey in Atlanta, Georgia. Organizers announced the plan on Tuesday at Atlanta City Hall, setting the relay to start in spring 2028 following the traditional flame lighting in Olympia, Greece. The flame will travel across the country to California, arriving for the Opening Ceremony of the Los Angeles Games on July 14, 2028. Organizers plan to route the flame past famous landmarks, cultural and sporting events, and community festival celebrations. The full route and list of host cities remain unscheduled until a planned announcement in 2027. Casey Wasserman described the nationwide scope during the presentation.

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.

Atlanta ceremony and Olympic heritage

Starting the domestic relay in Atlanta marks 32 years since the city hosted the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Wasserman appeared alongside Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and figures connected to the 1996 Games, including former Atlanta organizing committee leader Billy Payne. Four-time Olympic swimming gold medallist Janet Evans, now chief athlete officer for LA28, attended alongside Lonnie Ali, interim president and chief executive of the Muhammad Ali Center. Evans served as a torchbearer during the 1996 opening ceremony, passing the flame to former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali before he lit the Olympic cauldron. Wasserman called the starting point a tribute to a city with deep Olympic roots. Dickens welcomed the return of the flame to the city.

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. 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.

Expanding reach beyond previous relays

The 2028 route will cover more US states than any previous domestic Olympic torch relay. When Los Angeles previously hosted the Summer Games in 1984, the relay passed through 33 states. The 1996 Atlanta relay broadened that footprint to 42 states and included a journey into space aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Organizers stated that the 2028 edition will mark the first time the Olympic flame travels through all 50 states before the Games close on July 30, 2028.

Commercial backing and Paralympic plans

Detailed scheduling, participating host cities, and runner selection procedures will be released in 2027. Four corporate sponsors, Coca-Cola, JPMorganChase, Allstate, and Xfinity, will serve as presenting partners for both the Olympic and Paralympic relays. The Paralympic relay will follow the conclusion of the Olympics in August 2028, with its flame originating in Stoke Mandeville, England. Organizers plan to reveal the domestic starting point for the Paralympic relay at a later date. The 2028 event will be the third Summer Olympics staged in Los Angeles, following 1932 and 1984, and the city's first time hosting the Paralympic Games.