Fresno could join 2028 Olympic Torch relay as Dyer pushes bid

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer planned to ask the Fresno City Council on Thursday to approve an 18-page agreement that could put Fresno in the path of the 2028 Olympic Torch relay and start local planning for the event.

The proposal would do more than bring a ceremonial flame through town. It would create a community task force to choose a route, identify torchbearers, and set marketing and safety guidelines, giving Fresno a formal role in shaping how the relay would work through the city. That means public safety planning, city staff coordination, and work with community groups before any torch ever reaches the street.

Dyer has already been negotiating with LA28, the Los Angeles organizing committee for the Summer Games. The route itself has not been announced, and Fresno is not yet guaranteed a spot, but LA28 has said the torch relay will visit all 50 states for the first time in history. The International Olympic Committee has also said outreach to cities has already started, with work intensifying with federal, state and municipal governments on the relay’s operational details.

For Fresno, the concrete payoff would come from visibility and the chance to turn a global event into a local one. City leaders have framed the bid around tourism, downtown activation, regional visibility and the kind of branding that can put Fresno in front of television audiences and visiting spectators tied to one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

The timing gives the bid extra weight. LA28 says the Olympic Opening Ceremony is set for July 14, 2028, and the Games will run through July 30, 2028. The opening ceremony is scheduled to be shared between the LA Memorial Coliseum and the stadium in Inglewood, underscoring how closely the relay and ceremony plans are being tied to Southern California while still reaching far beyond it.

Dyer, Fresno’s 26th mayor, began his current term on Jan. 5, 2021, and won reelection to a second four-year term in March 2024. His push comes as city hall is already balancing immediate pressures, but the torch proposal shows officials looking years ahead to a chance for Fresno to attach itself to a historic national relay that is still being built.