Atlanta to launch 2028 Olympic torch relay across all 50 states

Organizers and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, that Atlanta will start the U.S. leg of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic torch relay. The flame will be lit in Olympia, Greece, arrive in Atlanta in spring 2028, travel through all 50 states for the first time, and reach the Los Angeles opening ceremony on July 14, 2028. Atlanta hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics, the last U.S. Summer Games. The full route is to be announced in 2027. Presenting sponsors are Coca-Cola, JPMorganChase, Allstate and Xfinity. LA28 chair and president Casey Wasserman said in a statement: "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." Dickens said Atlanta looks a little different, is bigger and more connected to the world, and will be ready to welcome the flame from Greece, celebrate the spirit of the Games as a community, and send it forward toward Los Angeles. A Paralympic torch relay will follow the Olympics in August 2028, with the flame originating in Stoke Mandeville, England. Its U.S. starting city has not been announced.