Where Will You Be In Two Years? For About 60,000 LA28 Volunteers: In Uniform and at Your Service

Two years from today, 14 July should be bursting with anticipation for the evening's LA28 Olympic Opening Ceremonies. 

And for up to 60,000 volunteers selected for the Games of the XXXIVth Olympiad, this date in 2026 marked the official start of their journey in service of the Olympic Family. 

In case you didn't already hear or read all about it, applications are now accepted from around the globe via Volunteer.LA28.org. 

The official press release and the home page of the Volunteer Portal reveal answers to most questions, with a few highlights:

• Be 18 or older when you apply, and plan to be available in Greater LA, Oklahoma City (site of
  two events), or the Olympic soccer cities of Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tenn., NYC, St. Louis, Mo., San Diego or San Jose, Calif.
• 
  Open to working 10 shifts during the Olympics or Paralympics (or both)
• Interest in one or two areas of focus: Ceremonies, Communications, Driving, Experience, Medical, Operations, Sport and/or Technology, with the option to designate preferences that one's professional or volunteer experiences and interests are a fit
• Six specialist areas that require some additional explanation of one's qualifications to support their interest for doping control, driving, emergency response, language proficiency, medical and security
• Acknowledgement of reading/understanding the Volunteer Charter
• General awareness of the answers to the Volunteer FAQ

An important detail I did not see specified: Learn the lyrics and whistling for the Guns N' Roses classic, 'cause this volunteer process requires five-ringed levels of patience. 

For Rio 2016 and Milano Cortina 2026 volunteering, after the general application was completed, several months passed before phases of the selection process got underway, and at a glance it seems LA28 is following a similar schedule. Scroll down to the base of this post for a screen grab listing the future stages along the left side of the webpage. 

For those selected for interviews, anticipate group video conference calls as a sort of chemistry check, then the real fun begins with all sorts of mandatory online video training modules. Once a role is assigned, then additional training follows, and so on and so forth until, at long last, it's time for the uniform distribution process. All of these phases and more are explained in the above links. 

It was pleasing to see that Olympic Champion Carl Lewis is an official ambassador of the volunteer program. After meeting him and conversing during Vancouver 2010 and later during the LA24 (turned LA28) bid process, he was among the most approachable and personable Olympians one could encounter, and it doesn't hurt he's an icon recognized around the globe. 

"Los Angeles has always shown up for me, and now it's our turn to show up for the world," said Lewis, via the LA28 press release. 

"If you want to be part of something historic, apply today. The role of a lifetime is waiting."                   -- Carl Lewis, Olympic Champion

So, did I register to volunteer for LA28? Absolutely, and the straightforward process took about 30 minutes. The system is set up to enable applicants to start, save and stop then return later for revisions. So, if one knows with certainty they prefer a specific sport assignment, but the distance to the venue is not yet calculated, there's time to research or percolate then adjust the application. 

A surprise of the process that may interest some not selected by LA28, the City of Los Angeles plans to launch its own Games-related volunteer portal early in 2027, with details and the option to get email updates via VolunteerIn2028.LAcity.gov. Could be a great backup option to contribute via the city's unaccredited media center or other hospitality initiatives. 

It was exciting to learn 6,000 to 8,000 volunteer assignments are up for grabs in my hometown Oklahoma City, according to this KFOR-TV 4 NBC local report.

It's also interesting to note that although some forms of unofficial Games volunteering took place from 1896 to 1936, it was London 1948 and Helsinki 1952 that generated more formal or organized volunteer options, with Lake Placid 1980 and LA84 solidifying the volunteer role, and Barcelona '92 really formalizing things, according to this IOC library page chock-full of other related trivia.

Photos and logos via LA28