In a local LA28 meeting tonight, the City of Long Beach officials explained how massive the 2028 LA Olympic and Paralympic Games will be.
In comparison to the biggest sporting event on the American calendar – the NFL’s Super Bowl – LA28 represents the visitor equivalent of 7 Super Bowls per day for the 16 days of the Olympics and the equivalent of 5 Super Bowls per day for the 12 days of the Paralympics. Simply put, it is massive. For example, there were approximately 69,000 room nights that are contracted by the NFL for a recent Super Bowl, but there are over 1,000,000 room nights that are currently contracted by LA28 – representing over 80% of the available hotel rooms throughout Southern California.
The City of Long Beach
Long Beach will stage 11 Olympic sporting events, including the 10 km open water swim, in 4 distinct zones with 161 ticketed events to occur spanning 17 of the 19 days of the Olympic Games. This will include 35 final matches, games, or races.
Olympic Open Water Swim
But the exact location and course design of the Olympic 10 km open water swim has not yet been decided. The 10 km open water swim location could be close to the Belmont Shore Pier or nearer to Alamitos Beach. The decision will apparently be made by the U.S. Secret Service.
Decisions regarding a test event for 2027 have also not been determined yet.
The 2026 Pan Pacific Championships 10 km open water swim will be held in Marine Stadium on August 10th 2026.
National Special Security Event
The LA28 Games are designated as a National Special Security Event – meaning that the Secret Service is the lead federal agency for operational security, supported by the FBI (for intelligence and counterterrorism) and FEMA (for emergency preparedness and recovery). This designation ensures federal, state, and local coordination for planning, resource sharing, and response.
For the City of Long Beach, this means close collaboration with the U.S. Secret Service as security perimeters are being finalized. So, for example as it relates to the Olympic 10 km open water swim, Alamitos Beach and the Belmont Shore Pier present different security concerns so the Secret Service will provide direction to the LA28 Organizing Committee to help balance safety, public and athlete access, and impact to the local community.
So the marathon swimmers – and other athletes and coaches – will wait on the decisions made by the Secret Service that will make the final determination of all security perimeters while City officials focus on coordination and keeping the local community and athletic community informed of those decisions. Special Agent in Charge Brian Lewin of the Secret Service said, “The security planning for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympic Games will be a huge undertaking that will require close coordination between law enforcement and public safety partners at all levels. We are working diligently to ensure the Games will be secure for all athletes, attendees, and the public.”
Updated Information
For updated information on the Olympic and Paralympic events in Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov/2028games.
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