Hollywood executive Peter Rice named head of ceremonies for 2028 Olympics
Rice, who has had senior leadership experience with 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company, will serve as lead executive producer for both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in Los Angeles.
"Our ceremonies will capture the energy, innovation and creativity of Los Angeles as well as the emotion that exists at the heart of every Olympic Games," Rice told Reuters in an interview.
"The challenge is to welcome the world in a way that's not only memorable, but truly representative of LA's unique spirit - a city that stands at the crossroads of creativity, sports, and art."
The British American producer will shape the creative vision and oversee production of all four ceremonies at two iconic venues: the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the newly built SoFi Stadium.
He said his experience with global sporting events like the Super Bowl, World Series, and FIFA World Cup has prepared him for the task, and emphasized that assembling a world-class production team was his top priority.
"We need people with deep Olympic experience who can also tap into LA's creativity and energy," he said, adding that the selection of a production company is expected by year's end.
LA28 Chairperson Casey Wasserman expressed enthusiasm for Rice's appointment, citing their 25-year friendship and Rice's unique blend of business, technical, financial and creative skills.
"I knew he was our number one draft pick," Wasserman said.
Rice, whose projects have earned 51 Academy Award and 293 Emmy nominations, hopes the ceremonies reflect Southern California's spirit of optimism.
"It's a place where people go to pursue their dreams, and the Olympics are all about people's dreams," he said.
The LA Games open on July 14, 2028, with the Paralympic Games following in August. It will be the first time Los Angeles has hosted a Paralympics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asia News Network
2 hours ago
- Asia News Network
Despite scant resources, Nepal's para-fighters keep kicking
July 28, 2025 KATHMANDU – Every morning, except on Saturdays, Kabiraj Negi Lama walks into a modest taekwondo hall of the Nepal Taekwondo Association building in Satdobato, Lalitpur. The sun has barely risen, but the space is already abuzz with the echoes of powerful, menacing kicks hitting paddle targets and the sharp 'aah!' of athletes pushing their limits. They are para-taekwondo players—five of them—all chasing the same dream: medals for the country. And Lama is their coach—unpaid, unrecognised, but still holding on. Less than a year ago, Lama helped Palesha Goverdhan win Nepal's first-ever medal at the world's biggest multi-sport stage—a bronze in the K44 -57kg category at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. It was a moment of historic pride. Flags waved. Speeches were made. Promises poured in. Among them was a simple one: Lama would be given a formal coaching role. But nearly a year later, Lama, under whom Nepal has secured 11 official international medals, including three gold, two silver, and six bronze, is yet to be appointed. By day, Lama works at the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA). By early morning, he volunteers his time, training the next generation of para-fighters—Bharat Singh Mahata, Amir Bhlon, Dipesh Mahat, Kamana Prasai, and Renu Tamang—who are now preparing for the 10th Asia Para Taekwondo Championships, a G4 category event, in Kuching, Malaysia. Goverdhan (-57kg), Mahata (-58kg), Bhlon (-63kg), Prasai (-47kg), and Tamang (-47kg) will be leaving for the tournament on July 29, with their bouts taking place on August 1. 'Mahat, who does not have both of his hands, will not join us as his category did not have enough players,' Lama said. 'Goverdhan will join us in Kuala Lumpur directly from China, where she is pursuing her bachelor's in architecture engineering. We will then head to Kuching together.' The Kathmandu District Taekwondo Association and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) bid farewell to the squad at an event on Saturday. 'It's a big tournament,' Lama said. 'A good result here could open doors for our athletes for LA 2028.' A medal, but no job Lama's own Olympic dream had ended years ago—he was a promising taekwondo athlete, but was often outmatched due to his shorter height. 'My height wasn't on my side,' he said. 'So, I thought maybe I could make it as a referee, just to be part of the Olympics.' That path, too, closed. But during referee training, Lama learned something that reshaped his purpose: the Olympics and Paralympics were of equal stature, organised under the same structures and values. Pulling up the official social media pages of Paris 2024, LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032, he shows their profile pictures. 'The emblems of the Olympics and Paralympics are side-by-side. These matching logos say it all,' Lama said. 'My dream was to reach the Olympics. I couldn't do it as an athlete, but I became part of a medal-winning team. And now, others are chasing the same dream. I can't walk away from them.' Dreams on Rs100 a day The five athletes Lama trains are determined but financially strained. They get just Rs100 a day from the association for training, which barely covers transport cost. A separate Rs500 daily stipend under the government's 'Mission 26' programme, an initiative aimed at securing a gold and double-digit medals at the 2026 Asian Games, was also recently cut at the end of the fiscal year 2024-25, citing budget constraints. Lama was among its recipients. In martial arts, where a practitioner needs good nutrition and diet to stay fit while focusing on preventing injuries, a couple of hundred rupees is dirt in the desert. Still, the athletes keep showing up. Take Bharat Singh Mahata. He hails from a village near Lipulekh, one of Nepal's most remote border regions. Born without his left hand below the elbow, Mahata initially played volleyball but had to stop due to the lack of inclusive opportunities. He came to Kathmandu in 2015 in search of some para-sports to join. 'I looked up one-hand cricket on YouTube and even tried wheelchair cricket in Kathmandu,' he recalled. 'But nothing worked out.' Disheartened, he returned to his village, a journey that still takes over two days, with hours of walking from the final bus stop. In 2023, he came back to the Capital after hearing about para-taekwondo and met Lama. Just two years in, he is already considered one of Nepal's most promising fighters. 'I just wanted a space where I'd be recognised for my talent,' he said. 'People like us aren't given proper jobs. We're not seen through the same lens. With wins in major tournaments, I want to change the way we are seen.' Now 27, Mahata is married, has a young son, and supports three sisters. He keeps cows to sell milk and helps run the household. 'Rs100 may sound like nothing, but it's what kept me going,' he said. 'Whether taking a bus or buying a bottle of water, I think a hundred times before spending money. I know I'm getting almost nothing from the state, but at least that amount has kept me going.' Mahata also returns in the evenings from Kirtipur to train with able-bodied taekwondoins, pushing himself to perform at an even higher level. Gold, not survival Inside the training hall, two A4-sized papers hang on the wall: one bears the LA28 logo, the other, the 2026 Asian Games emblem. Mahata taped them up himself. 'Paris was tough,' he said of the Paralympics, where he failed to progress towards a medal. 'But the Asian Games in Japan and the Paralympics in LA—they won't be the same. This time, I'm not training for bronze or silver. I aim for gold.' The ambition has caught on. Amir Bhlon, who took up the sport on October 24, 2021, a date he clearly remembers, begins his morning routine by circling the Satdobato sports complex seven times—his warm-up ritual. 'I'll keep getting better and better,' he said. 'I want to win medals on the biggest platforms.' Each of the athletes shares a similar story: limited financial support, poor job security, and mounting personal responsibilities. 'There are no good jobs for people with disabilities in this country,' said Bhlon. 'I used to work for an online platform—calling clients, reminding them of payment deadlines. But I left to focus on training. How I'm surviving now, even I don't know.' Yet, every morning, they return to that hall, their kicks sharper, their voices louder, and their eyes still locked on a brighter future. Will the medal matter? Lama believes the Paris bronze changed something. Since Goverdhan's win, there's been a visible surge in interest as more persons with disabilities are exploring para-sports, asking about opportunities, and showing up. 'Thanks to the hall and basic training equipment provided by the association,' Lama continued, 'we can at least keep kicking and keep moving towards the dreams that seem impossible.' But whether that interest is matched with institutional backing remains uncertain. 'If we don't act now, we'll lose them,' Lama said. 'This can't be a one-time story. There has to be a system in place.'
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
'Lucky' De Minaur saves three match points to lift Washington Open title
Alex De Minaur rallied from a set down and saved three match points to claim the Washington Open title with a 5-7 6-1 7-6(3) win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final of the ATP 500 event on Sunday. The Australian number one, who lost the 2018 final to Alexander Zverev, felt he rode his luck to secure his 10th career title and ensure he will enter the top 10 in the world rankings ahead of next month's U.S. Open. The two 26-year-olds exchanged breaks early in the opening set before Spain's Davidovich Fokina seized control by breaking again and closed out the set with the help of some crisp forehand winners. De Minaur responded emphatically in the second set, converting two of four break-point opportunities while holding serve throughout, wrapping up the set in just over 30 minutes with an ace to level the contest. The Spaniard looked on course for his first career title when he broke to grab the lead in the decider but he failed to serve out the match at 5-3, sending a forehand long to hand the break back to seventh seed De Minaur. Davidovich Fokina's frustration mounted as the 12th seed squandered three match points on De Minaur's serve, and the Australian then capitalised on a series of unforced errors in the tiebreak to edge the contest. "I came here in 2018 and it gave me so much confidence, so I'm so happy that I was able to come back and end up winning the title," De Minaur said at the trophy presentation. "Alejandro, you're way too good not to have one of these, it's coming for sure," he added, gesturing to the trophy. "You deserved it today, I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor, hell of a player. No one on the tour wants to play you. And this is not the end, this is only going on for you." Davidovich Fokina recalled that he had required a wild card to play in the U.S. capital last year and was pleased to have at least guaranteed a rise to a career high world number 19 when the rankings are updated on Monday. "He deserved the win, he was fighting every ... ball, he was always pushing through my limits," Davidovich Fokina said. "We had a job to do before we started the year, to be at the middle of the year in the top 20. This week we did it, just not with the trophy. But for sure, we will keep going, pushing our limits, pushing harder."
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
De Minaur saves three match points to lift Washington Open title
Alex De Minaur rallied from a set down and saved three match points to claim the Washington Open title with a 5-7 6-1 7-6(3) win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final of the ATP 500 event on Sunday. The pair exchanged breaks early in the opening set before Spain's Davidovich Fokina seized control by breaking again and closed out the set with the help of some crisp forehand winners. Australian De Minaur responded emphatically in the second set, converting two of four break-point opportunities while holding serve throughout, wrapping up the set in just over 30 minutes with an ace to level the contest. Davidovich Fokina looked in control of the decider when he broke to grab the lead but failed to serve out the match at 5-3, sending a forehand long to hand the break back to seventh seed De Minaur. Davidovich Fokina's frustration mounted as the 12th seed squandered three match points on De Minaur's serve, and the Australian then capitalised on a series of unforced errors in the tiebreak to edge the contest and lift his 10th career title.
