Media Veteran Peter Rice to Supervise 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Peter Rice, a media-industry veteran who held senior operating roles at both the previous 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney Co., is strolling on to a brand-new field– sports.
Rice has been named head of events and material for the Olympic and Paralympic Games set to occur in Los Angeles in the summer season of 2028, a relocation that taps a Hollywood executive to discover new methods to interact the splendour of the athletic extravaganza throughout a few of its signature occasions. Rice will act as the lead executive producer for the opening and closing events at the 2028 Games and manage the creative vision and physical production at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the 2028 Arena. He will report to Casey Wasserman, the CEO of the sports and talent agency that bears his name and the chairman of the arranging committee for the 2028 Games.
“Peter is one of the uncommon individuals whose knowledge seamlessly combines imagination, operational insight and production quality to deliver Events that will mesmerize audiences around the world,” stated Wasserman, in a prepared statement. “He’s been a leading figure in forming the contemporary television and movie landscape and is the ideal property to reimagining the shipment of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the digital age, leaving a tradition well beyond the Games.”
Popular on Range
The Los Angeles committee deals with a fascinating challenge. The organizers of the 2024 Games in Paris enabled a few of that city’s most distinguished landmarks to be utilized as part of the phenomenon. The Eiffel Tower, for instance, was used as the site for beach volley ball competitions. The River Seine was tapped to develop a parade of boats utilized to herald the start of the Games during opening ceremonies, which drew the interest of nearly 29 million viewers across NBC and its Peacock streaming service– the very best media audience for the occasion since 2012.
In a declaration, Rice suggested he depended on the task. “I eagerly anticipate delivering Events that honor the tradition of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and celebrate the innovative future of the 2028 Arena,” he stated. “These places have hosted some of the most famous minutes in sports
history, and I’m enjoyed deliver an effective artistic experience that adds a new chapter to L.A.’s Olympic and Paralympic story.”
Rice worked for 20 years at companies that became part of the former 21st Century Fox. Among his most notable stints came as president of Fox Searchlight, the studio that focused on little however effective films such as “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Juno” and “Napoleon Dynamite.” He would eventually increase to end up being president of the corporate parent, which is controlled by the Murdoch family. When leader Rupert Murdoch sold the bulk of Fox’s cable television and studio possessions to Disney, Rice was appointed to supervise Disney’s general home entertainment TV possessions, which included ABC and Freeform. He left in 2022 after clashing with Disney’s CEO at the time, Bob Chapek.
Because that time, Rice has actually worked as a manufacturer, developing ties to the independent production business A24. He produced the 2024 movie “Saturday Night,” a take a look at the earliest days of “Saturday Night Live” that was directed by Jason Reitman, and 2025’s “28 Years Later,” the most recent version in a long-running dystopian franchise.
The July 14 opening ceremonies for the 2028 Games are anticipated to include “creative components that celebrate L.A.’s multiculturalism and innovative energy,” LA 28 stated in a declaration, while the closing event will happen on July 20 at the Coliseum. The Paralympic ceremonies will follow, with the opening celebration taking place at the 2028 Arena on August 15 and closing at the Coliseum August 27.