Ben Winston is known for producing live events that deliver great spectacle and surprise. Winston is about to take on the biggest assignment of his career, now that he’s has been tapped to serve as executive producer and creative director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Winston will steer those key TV moments for the Summer Games as well as the Paralympic Games, which will also be held in Los Angeles. He will partner with Olympics veteran Scott Givens, who will serve as executive producer for production on both events. Winston’s Fulwell Entertaiment and Givens FiveCurrents banner have set a joint venture dubbed FulFive that is already working on planning for the events for LA28, the entity tasked with producing the Summer Games and Paralympics.
Peter Rice, the film and TV veteran who was tapped in July as LA28’s head of ceremonies and content, said the combination of Winston and Givens sets the stage for an epic live TV production that will kick off the Summer Games on July 14, 2028. Both Opening Ceremony is a massive four-hour live TV undertaking. Rice acknowledges that the pressure is on for the Los Angeles games to reflect the deep well of creativity and innovation found in Hollywood’s hometown.
“The Olympics are a unifying force in the world, in which people always come together and they put aside national differences,” Rice told Variety. “And you have these incredible athletes who compete their whole lives, most of whom are competing for very little monetary gain. But the amount of energy and time that they have to train to become Olympians, and then the ceremonies, I just love that unifying sense about the ceremonies.”
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LA28 leaders took a long time to consider the best options for tackling production challenge. The bar is high because the Paris Summer Games were so widely praised for the execution of the opening and closing ceremonies.
“There is no event of this scale in the world. We also are putting it on in Hollywood, which has a unique opportunity to tap into the entertainment world that no other city anywhere can do,” Rice said. “So we were really looking for, how do we combine those two things? And with Ben and Scott, it really does combine the ability for us to feel really confident about the logistics of the ceremonies, and to imbue it with a uniquely sort of L.A.-based entertainment perspective, which Ben’s going to bring. And they’re both California companies, which is also something we love about this arrangement.”
Winston had something of an audition for the job last year when he helped pull off the tricky Paris-to-LA handover during the closing of the 2024 Summer Games in the City of Light. Winston worked with Tom Cruise to pull off an elaborate TV stunt that saw Tom Cruise ride out of the Paris venue on a motorcycle — only to emerge in the Hollywood hills, parachuting out of a plane by the iconic Hollywood sign with the Olympic flag in tow. That telecast also featured musical performances from artists with deep Los Angeles roots: Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg.
“The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games represent the pinnacle of human achievement, and Los Angeles, the home of storytelling, offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine what these Ceremonies can be,” Winston said. “I couldn’t be more honored, grateful and delighted to take on this role, and to work alongside Peter, Scott and the whole LA28 team, to create unforgettable Ceremonies
that will truly inspire and entertain, while cerebrating the Olympic and Paralympic spirit and the creative energy of this city.”
Winston is known for executive producing numerous Grammy Awards telecasts as well as concert specials such as CBS’ “Adele: One Night Only” and Disney+’s “Elton John: A Farewell From Dodger Stadium.”
Givens has produced more than 400 live events and held roles with 15 Olympic Games and produced 63 global ceremonies. He has earned the prestigious Olympic Order, one of the highest kudos bestowed by the International Olympic Committee.
“These Ceremonies represent the ultimate challenge in live production — bringing together global headliners, thousands of performers, best-in-class technologies and split-second timing on the world’s
biggest stage,” Givens said. “I’m thrilled to partner with the incredibly talented LA28 team alongside Ben and Peter to execute a vision that honors the athletes and creates a unifying memory for Los Angeles, California, our nation and a global broadcast audience in the billions.”
The Opening Ceremony of the 2028 Summer Games will be held July 14, 2028, primarily at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium, which will be dubbed “2028 Stadium” for the Games. The Closing Ceremony will come on July 30. The Paralympic Games will follow on Aug. 15 and close on Aug. 27. Los Angeles previously hosted Olympic Games in 1984 and 1932.
Rice emphasized that Givens’ deep institutional knowledge of the Olympics and Winston’s entertainment instincts will make for a potent mix.
“It feels like a dream team,” Rice said.
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