Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida (© Camping World Stadium)
The iconic Olympic emblem is set to rise in a city known as a major entertainment destination that started with a mouse.
“It’s exciting to have the Olympic Rings in Orlando, there’s no doubt about it,” Jason Siegel, president of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission, told GamesBids.com during an interview after the American city was named one of the four places to host the Olympic Q-Series ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last month announced that Tokyo, Shanghai and Montreal will also stage events in the series that will be held for the second time since debuting as the Olympic Qualifier Series held in Shanghai and Budapest in 2024. Orlando will be the final stop on the tour from June 8 to 11, ending less than five weeks ahead of the LA 2028 opening ceremony.
The IOC’s plan is to consolidate qualifiers for six sports set to feature in Los Angeles – 3×3 basketball, beach volleyball, BMX freestyle, climbing, flag football and skateboarding – with each city staging either four or five. Further details have yet to be released.
“We have a good understanding for each of the 6 sports, what would be required to host those sports, but undetermined which of those sports [we will host] just quite yet,” Siegel said.
“We will be transforming Camping World Stadium much like we have over the years for many of the music, and in some cases, music and sport festivals like the [Vans] Warped Tour [scheduled for November 2026].
“We will be creating, dare I say, a dynamic Olympic festival and footprint.”
Considered a lock to be in Orlando’s program is flag football, the sport heavily supported by the National Football League (NFL) – the most popular pro sport league in the United States. NFL players are eligible to compete in the tournament, adding to the appeal of the event that will be considered a huge draw.
Flag football was added to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic program by the local organizing committee for what may be only a one-time appearance.
“We were excited to learn that flag football would be part of the Q-Series,” Siegel said adding “having the NFL players involved was music to our ears.”
“It was just about in the middle of the process that we learned that flag was going to be included.”
Siegel emphasized that flag football was a great fit for the Orlando area explaining “we have hosted numerous youth flag football championships and events here in Orlando over the years.”
In March TMRW Sports, based near Orlando, announced it had partnered with the NFL to launch a new men’s and women’s pro flag football league. TMRW’s CFO Katie Fitzpatrick sits on the board of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission creating greater synergy as the flag event is delivered for the Q-Series.
Siegel said that working with USA Football, the national federation, he is “looking forward to activate in a significant way as it relates to the sport of flag football.”
“Certainly statewide, there’ll be a lot of energy and excitement, but we would imagine there’ll be great visitation, drive market, even fly market.”
Orlando organizers are prepared to dig in to make this sophomore event successful.
“We are prepared to raise the bar significantly,” Siegel said.
“I know they did a great job in Shanghai and Budapest in ’24, but just the initial renderings and the way that we’re going to approach our partnerships with the IOC, USOPC [United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee] – fingers crossed, hopefully we hear more about [broadcaster] NBC in the near future, we’re really excited.
Siegel also hinted about synergy with Universal Orlando theme park along with its resorts and destinations.
Although he said there have been no discussions about hosting a subsequent Q-Series, he did mention a bigger vision.
“The [Florida] governor’s seat is going to change this fall, so starting to have conversations with the new governor about the potential for taking a look at 2040 or 2044 and hosting these Summer Olympics in the state of Florida down the road.”
The IOC has allocated the Olympic Games until 2032 in Brisbane, Australia and several nations have expressed interest in hosting in 2036 led by Ahmedabad in India, Doha in Qatar and North Jeolla in South Korea. Other countries are already looking as far forward as 2040 and 2044 including Germany and South Africa.
The IOC is currently reviewing its host city bid process and is expected to release a report and possible reforms later this year.