As preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles intensify, organizers are confronting a range of complex legal and security challenges to ensure the event’s success. With fewer than 800 days until the Games, the LA28 organizing committee is transitioning from strategic planning to active implementation, navigating the intricacies of multi-jurisdictional cooperation, intellectual property protection, and heightened security requirements.
The Olympic events will be spread across multiple venues in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Inglewood, Long Beach, and San Clemente, where surfing competitions are slated to take place near Trestles. Preliminary soccer matches will occur in various other cities, each requiring tailored legal agreements and close coordination with local governments and agencies. Ensuring consistency and operational alignment across these diverse locations remains a central task for the legal team.
Security measures for the Games are especially stringent, as the Olympics in the United States are designated a National Special Security Event. This classification places the Secret Service in a primary role coordinating security efforts among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, working closely with Olympic organizers to safeguard the event. The designation reflects the global profile of the Games and the attendance of numerous heads of state.
Among the most significant concerns for LA28 is the protection of its intellectual property, particularly the Olympic rings—a globally recognized and highly valuable trademark. In addition to standard trademark protections, the Olympic marks benefit from the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, which provides enhanced statutory safeguards in the U.S. This legal backbone underpins the financial model for LA28, which relies heavily on sponsorship revenue rather than direct government funding, diverging from the approach taken by many previous host cities.
The organizing committee’s strategy centers on revenue from sponsorships, ticket sales, hospitality programs, licensing, and consumer products. Safeguarding the intellectual property rights associated with the Olympics is critical to prevent unauthorized commercial use and protect the interests of official sponsors. This task is further complicated by evolving dynamics around athletes’ rights to their own name, image, and likeness, necessitating a careful balance between allowing athletes to pursue independent endorsements and preventing unlicensed third parties from capitalizing on Olympic branding.
To address the increasing scope and complexity of legal work, LA28 recently inaugurated a fellowship program in partnership with regional law schools, including UCLA, USC, Loyola, Pepperdine, and Southwestern. This initiative brings recent law graduates into the legal department, providing them with substantive experience in areas ranging from sponsorship negotiations and government contracting to intellectual property and entertainment law as they support a major international event.
Elisabeth Freinberg, chief legal officer and general counsel of LA28, noted the accelerating pace of work as the Games approach, emphasizing the multifaceted nature of the challenges involved. While athletes and spectators will be the visible face of the Olympics when they arrive in Los Angeles in 2028, a vast and intricate legal infrastructure will underpin the event to ensure its smooth execution and financial viability.