LA 2028
Phoenix, Savannah, Minneapolis: The Cities Signing On to the 2028 Torch Relay
LA28 hasn't published a route, but city councils across the country are voting to host the flame
October 16, 20265 min read
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The Route Is Filling In
LA28 won't publish the 2028 torch relay route until 2027. Fresno's staff report puts it "in the first half of 2027." In the meantime the route is taking shape in city council chambers. Since June, councils from California to Georgia have voted on Torch Relay Agreements with LA28, and two more did in early October.
A signed agreement doesn't put a city on the route. It lets LA28 consider the city, and LA28 confirms the stops when it publishes the route. When Casey Wasserman announced the Atlanta start on September 29, he said "in the months ahead, we look forward to welcoming even more cities and partners." This is what that looks like.
Cities That Have Signed On
| City | What happened | When |
|---|---|---|
| Fresno, California | Council approved a Torch Relay Agreement with LA28 on its consent calendar | June 25, 2026 |
| South Lake Tahoe, California | Council voted 5-0 to let the mayor sign the agreement | July 2026 |
| Minneapolis, Minnesota | Council voted 10-0 to serve as an official relay host city | August 13, 2026 |
| Springfield, Missouri | Council took up an ordinance to enter a Torch Relay Agreement | August 2026 |
| Tampa, Florida | A resolution to join the relay "at no cost to the City" came before council | September 3, 2026 |
| Phoenix, Arizona | Council unanimously approved a contract for the relay and a cauldron lighting | October 7, 2026 |
| Savannah, Georgia | Council approved an agreement with LA28 | October 8, 2026 |
Phoenix has published the most detail. Its October 7 vote covers both the relay and a cauldron lighting when the flame reaches its final Phoenix stop. The city will provide services at no cost to LA28, including traffic coordination, convoy parking, public safety, emergency medical services, street cleaning and a liaison for a community task force. No venue has been chosen. "The city is thrilled about the prospect of participating in LA 28's historic torch relay," said Mayor Kate Gallego.
Savannah approved its agreement the next day. LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover had sent Mayor Van Johnson the invitation in April. The city will form a community task force to choose torchbearers and a local route. In 1996 the flame reached Savannah aboard the schooner America at River Street, and the city estimates about 100,000 people turned out. "There are people who were not around in 1996, and we have the chance to make history once again," Johnson said.
South Lake Tahoe voted unanimously in July. Mayor Pro Tem Roberts said the city was being considered as one of the relay's "final day" cities, with a celebration and a cauldron lighting, in part because of Tahoe's Olympic history. Minneapolis voted 10-0 on August 13 and noted that it was last a relay host city in 1996.
What a City Agrees To
The agreement itself is an 18-page document marked confidential. The Sports Examiner read unsigned copies posted for Fresno and South Bend, Indiana. The short version is that cities pay LA28 no fee and provide services instead.
- A cauldron lighting is the city's event and the city's cost. It needs a site LA28 approves, "free of commercial, political, social, and/or religious messaging," with a stage, video screen, barricades, toilets, lighting and security, plus overnight support for the relay convoy. The public gets in free.
- A shorter stop is a "Photo Moment" at a place with local cultural, historic or community significance.
- Torchbearers are picked locally. The city and its community task force select them, and LA28 sets how many. Each one must pass a security background check and be chosen on merit. Spots can't be sold, traded for donations or given away as prizes, and elected officials and political candidates aren't eligible.
- No side deals. Cities can't sign their own relay sponsorships and have to help prevent ambush marketing.
That's a different model from Paris 2024, where French departments were asked for 150,000 to 180,000 euros each to host the flame. In the end, 65 of 101 departments did.
Also in the News
Atlanta's cauldron. A plan would move the top of the 1996 cauldron from Summerhill to Centennial Olympic Park. The AJC reports that Mayor Andre Dickens and many Summerhill residents oppose the move, and nearly two dozen former Olympians have signed a petition to keep it where it is. "If there is a relay, it makes sense for Summerhill to be included," said Cheron Pitchford of the Summerhill Neighborhood Development Corp.
Utah. No Utah stop has been announced. Fraser Bullock, who leads the Salt Lake City-Utah 2034 organizing committee, told the Deseret News that Utah organizers are working "with the LA28 team to ensure we have a great torch relay experience here in our communities."
What This Means for Torchbearers
Every city that signs on sets up a community task force, and that task force picks local torchbearers. That's a second door, alongside LA28's own public nominations and the presenting partners' programs. LA28 still says nomination details "will be announced at a later date."
To see whether your city is in, search its council agendas for "Torch Relay Agreement" or "LA28." If it has signed, the task force is who to contact. How cities join has the details, and the complete torchbearer guide covers every channel.
Where I Come In
I'm cleared to train and collecting the names of people who would nominate me when the forms open. If you'd be one of them, add your name below. I'll send you the link the day nominations open.