Competition guide
Summer Olympic Games
The Olympics are the most complex fan trip in sport and the one with the most lead time, which is a useful combination. Host cities are chosen years ahead, so you can plan the city long before the schedule exists. The hard part is not getting there, it is building a daily itinerary that does not have you crossing a metropolitan area three times a day.
How the format works
A multi-week programme across dozens of sports at venues spread throughout the host city and sometimes well beyond it. Tickets are sold by session rather than by day, so a single sport can have several sessions in one day at the same venue. Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Olympic Games from July 14 to 30, with the Paralympic Games from August 15 to 27. Brisbane hosts in 2032.
Run by International Olympic Committee. FanForged has no affiliation with them.
A short history
The modern Games have been staged since 1896 and now run on a four-year cycle, with the Paralympic Games following in the same host city a few weeks later. Recent editions have moved away from building entirely new venue districts toward reusing existing stadiums and arenas, which is why a host city’s permanent sports venues are usually a good guide to where events will be held.
Why fans travel for it
It is the only event where you can watch four unrelated sports in three days, and where a session ticket for a less prominent sport costs a fraction of a marquee final while delivering the same stadium atmosphere. For a host city, it is also the one time its entire transport and hospitality system is organised around visitors.
How the calendar shapes a trip
Plan by venue cluster, not by sport. Host cities spread venues across a wide area, and two events on the same day in different clusters can be two hours apart. Accommodation should be chosen for transit access to the clusters you have tickets for. Book lodging as soon as dates are confirmed, because inventory in the host city is committed early.
Planning around the Summer Olympic Games
What catches people out
- ›Group each day by geography. Two sessions in the same cluster is a good day; two across the city is a wasted one.
- ›Do not assume venues are close together. Some host cities use sites an hour or more from the centre.
- ›Tickets are sold by session, and session times can shift. Confirm before building same-day travel around two of them.
- ›Sessions for lower-profile sports are usually cheaper and easier to get, and the stadium experience is often just as good.
- ›Summer host cities can be very hot. Shade, water and walking distances between transit and venue gates matter more than people expect.
- ›Fan zones and live sites are free, central, and a genuine part of the event for anyone without a ticket that day.
- ›Use the official transport guidance when it is published. Normal city transit patterns change substantially during the Games.
- ›No ticket resale claim from a third party should be taken at face value. Buy only through the official channel for the host country.
Traditions worth knowing
- ›Opening and closing ceremonies as separate ticketed events
- ›Session-based ticketing that lets you sample several sports in a day
- ›Free fan zones and live sites across the host city
- ›A Paralympic Games in the same venues a few weeks later
Dated events in this competition
Full guides with confirmed dates, host cities and planning notes.
Venues to know
How to reach each one, where to base yourself, and what is walkable afterwards.
Cities to build the trip around
Where this competition is worth travelling for, with transit and neighbourhood notes.
Los Angeles
California, United States
Los Angeles hosts more major sport than any other American city and is about to host the Olympics for a third time. The catch is geography: venues are scattered across roughly 50 miles of county, and the difference between a good trip and a bad one is almost always where you chose to sleep.
- Major venues
- SoFi Stadium, Inglewood · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park
- Best hotel areas
- Downtown LA · Santa Monica
- Airports
- LAX is the main gateway and sits close to Inglewood venues but far from Downtown and Pasadena
Brisbane
Queensland, Australia
Brisbane is building toward hosting the 2032 Olympic Games and is already a regular stop for cricket, rugby league, and Australian rules football. It is compact, warm year-round, and considerably cheaper than Sydney or Melbourne as an event base.
- Major venues
- The Gabba · Suncorp Stadium
- Best hotel areas
- Brisbane CBD · South Bank
- Airports
- Brisbane Airport (BNE) connects to the CBD in about 20 minutes on the Airtrain
Paris
Île-de-France, France
Paris carries a Grand Slam on clay, the finish of the Tour de France, a national stadium in Saint-Denis, and the Olympic infrastructure built for 2024. The Métro makes venue access straightforward, and the city retained a genuine amount of its Games-era upgrades.
- Major venues
- Stade de France, Saint-Denis · Roland-Garros, 16th arrondissement
- Best hotel areas
- Le Marais · Saint-Germain-des-Prés
- Airports
- Charles de Gaulle (CDG) connects on RER B
First-time fan questions
How early should I start planning?
Accommodation first, as soon as the dates are confirmed, because host city inventory is committed years ahead. Tickets come much later, on a schedule set by the organising committee for each edition.
How many events can I realistically see in a day?
Two sessions is comfortable if they are in the same venue cluster. Three is possible only if the venues are adjacent. Plan geography first and sport second.
Is it worth going without tickets?
The fan zones and live sites are free and genuinely busy, and a host city during the Games is an experience on its own. That said, session tickets for less prominent sports are often affordable and worth having at least a few of.
Part of the Olympics & Multi-Sport hub
Olympic viewing is fragmented across dozens of simultaneous events, so bars tend to show whatever the local broadcaster prioritises rather than what you want. National-team bars and expat venues are the way to see a specific sport, and the time-zone gap decides whether it is a breakfast or a late-night watch.
Open the Olympics & Multi-Sport travel hubWhere to go next
Last updated August 18, 2026
Sources and verification
- LA28: Games dates announcement Olympic and Paralympic date ranges for 2028.
- LA28: Olympic competition schedule
- International Paralympic Committee: LA28 dates
Competition formats, fixture calendars, ticketing rules and session times change between seasons. Confirm with the organiser before booking travel.
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