Our long-term member and contributor, Kim MacMillan, participated in the online World Press Briefing on July 25 hosted by the LA28 Organizing Committee. She has put together a report with vital data for all members interested in the Olympic and Paralympic Games of Los Angeles 2028.
Author: Kim MacMillan
Things are beginning to happen related to media accreditation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games (July 14 – July 30, 2028) and Paralympic Games (August 15 – August 27, 2028).
The venue for the equestrian competition for LA28 is the Santa Anita Park Racetrack in Arcadia, California, USA, which is about 18 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. The track was also used for most of the equestrian competition at the 1984 Olympics. The address of the racetrack is 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91007, USA.
The LA28 Organizing Committee hosted a World Press Briefing on July 25. A recording of that World Press Briefing is available now on the LA28 Press Extranet. The briefing offered some basic information on accreditation, housing, transportation, rate card, and other logistics.
To apply for access to the Press Extranet (which is a necessary first step to access more information), complete the form here:
Link to application for Extranet LA28
To apply for media credentials, you must have a viable assignment and apply through your own country’s National Olympic Committee (NOC). There are three categories of accreditation which are most likely to apply to IAEJ members who wish to be part of the working press in LA: Journalists (E or Es); photographers (EP or EPs), or Non-Rights Holders Broadcasters (ENR).
Accreditation spots are very, very limited, with only 3,750 journalist credentials, 1,800 photographer credentials, and 450 non-rights-holder credentials across all of the 40+ sports which will be contested in LA, so the amount of accreditations allotted just for the equestrian venue will be small. (Before the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, the International Olympic Committee drastically reduced the number of available sports-specific equestrian journalist and photographer credentials, and this remains in effect for LA28.)
The International Olympic Committee has added a new step (an initial “Expression of Interest” step, in addition to the already existing “Press by Number” and “Press by Name” steps) to the process from previous games, so there are now three key deadlines in the process. Here are the three steps that apply to journalists and photographers:
- 31 August to 23 October 2026: Members of the press seeking accreditation should contact their relevant NOC for details of the press accreditation process. Expressions of interest should be submitted to the relevant NOC via the Press Accreditation Registration Portal.
- The access link to the portal will be available on olympics.com from 31 August to 23 October 2026. Please note that submission via this portal does not guarantee any press accreditation and the number of press accreditations allocated to each NOC by the IOC is limited. This portal also includes expressions of interest from non-media rights-holding television and radio organisations (non-MRH). Further information on this category is available in the Non-Media Rights Holders section.
- The relevant NOC – and not the IOC – is responsible for managing and responding to applications submitted via the portal within its territory.
- The IOC will not handle or respond to any individual requests submitted via this platform.
- Week commencing 5 October 2026:Press by Number Process Starts for NOCs
- Press by Number forms from LA28 will be available via the portal. Related press services publications will also be available. NOCs need to inform the LA28 Organising Committee of the names of the organisations that they wish to accredit along with the number of corresponding accreditation categories.
- 18 December 2026: Press by Number Process Ends for NOCs
- Deadline for NOCs to return the completed Press by Number forms to LA28 via the portal. The IOC approves the Press by Number forms submitted by the NOCs. NOCs notify the press organisations within the territory of their accreditation allocations and provide instructions on accreditation deadlines and how to reserve press accommodation in LA.
- 30 March 2027: Deadline to reserve press accommodation with LA28 Organising Committee
- Week commencing 18 Oct 2027:Press by Name Process Starts
- LA28 distributes the Press by Name materials to NOCs that have returned their Press by Number forms.
- The Press by Name process requires NOCs to gather name/passport/photo and other important information for those to be accredited
- Online system opens for NOCs and directly accredited organisations to submit their details to LA28. (date TBC)
- 18 February 2028:Press by Name deadline
- Deadline for NOCs and directly accredited press organisations to return the Press by Name forms to LA28 on behalf of their press representatives, listing the names of each press representative that they have agreed to accredit along with the submission of their personal data.
The application for Non-Rights Holders will take a slightly different path. Please note that the quota for ENR accreditations is very limited. A maximum of three individuals per non-MRH organisation may be accredited; however this is not guaranteed. Not all non-MRH organisations applying through their NOC will be granted accreditation. Adherence to all deadlines is mandatory. Non-MRH need to submit their requests to the NOCs from 31 August to 23 October 2026.Requests submitted after this period will not be considered. NOCs will be notified of the IOC’s decision during the week commencing 1 February 2027 and will be responsible for informing the respective non-MRH organisations of the outcome of their applications.
For expanded information on the accreditation process, and links to guidelines and forms, go to the IOC website here: https://www.olympics.com/ioc/accred2028 or contact your country’s NOC.
LA28 Paralympic Games will have a separate set of deadlines and application process, although some NOCs may ask you about both the Olympic and Paralympic Games at the same time on your “Expression of Interest” form.
Press by Number for the LA28 Paralympics will run March-June 2027 with the corresponding Press by Name period January-May 2028. For more information on the Paralympic accreditation process contact your NOC or go to the International Paralympic Committee website at https://www.paralympic.org .
Please note that the LA28 Organizing Committee is not involved in the accreditation process.
For more information on other logistics related to the Games, however, you may contact the LA28 Press Operations team at pressoperations@la28.org
The LA28 Games website is: https://la28.org