Media Veteran Peter Rice to Oversee 2028 Los Angeles Olympics Ceremonies

Peter Rice, a media-industry veteran who held senior operating roles at both the former 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney Co., is walking on to a new field — sports.

Rice has been named head of ceremonies and content for the Olympic and Paralympic Games set to take place in Los Angeles in the summer of 2028, a move that taps a Hollywood executive to find new ways to communicate the grandeur of the athletic extravaganza during some of its signature events. Rice will serve as the lead executive producer for the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2028 Games and oversee the creative vision and physical production at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the 2028 Stadium. He will report to Casey Wasserman, the CEO of the sports and talent agency that bears his name and the chairman of the organizing committee for the 2028 Games.

“Peter is one of the rare individuals whose expertise seamlessly combines creativity, operational insight and production excellence to deliver Ceremonies that will captivate audiences around the world,” said Wasserman, in a prepared statement. “He’s been a leading figure in shaping the modern television and film landscape and is the perfect asset to reimagining the delivery of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the digital age, leaving a legacy well beyond the Games.”

The Los Angeles committee faces an interesting challenge. The organizers of the 2024 Games in Paris allowed some of that city’s most distinguished landmarks to be utilized as part of the spectacle. The Eiffel Tower, for example, was used as the site for beach volleyball competitions. The River Seine was tapped to create a parade of boats used to herald the start of the Games during opening ceremonies, which lured the interest of nearly 29 million viewers across NBC and its Peacock streaming service — the best media audience for the event since 2012.

In a statement, Rice suggested he was up to the task. “I look forward to delivering Ceremonies that honor the legacy of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and celebrate the cutting-edge future of the 2028 Stadium,” he said. “These venues have hosted some of the most legendary moments in sports
history, and I’m thrilled to deliver a powerful artistic experience that adds a new chapter to L.A.’s Olympic and Paralympic story.”

Rice worked for two decades at companies that were part of the former 21st Century Fox. One of his most notable stints came as president of Fox Searchlight, the studio that specialized in small but powerful films such as “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Juno” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” He would eventually rise to become president of the corporate parent, which is controlled by the Murdoch family. When leader Rupert Murdoch sold the bulk of Fox’s cable and studio assets to Disney, Rice was assigned to oversee Disney’s general entertainment TV assets, which included ABC and Freeform. He left in 2022 after clashing with Disney’s CEO at the time, Bob Chapek.

Since that time, Rice has worked as a producer, establishing ties to the independent production company A24. He produced the 2024 film “Saturday Night,” a look at the earliest days of “Saturday Night Live” that was directed by Jason Reitman, and 2025’s “28 Years Later,” the latest iteration in a long-running dystopian franchise.

The July 14 opening ceremonies for the 2028 Games are expected to feature “artistic elements that celebrate L.A.’s cultural diversity and creative energy,” LA 28 said in a statement, while the closing ceremony will take place on July 20 at the Coliseum. The Paralympic ceremonies will follow, with the opening celebration taking place at the 2028 Stadium on August 15 and closing at the Coliseum August 27.