What’s Next in Los Angeles: Key Milestones Shaping the City of Angels
Rendering courtesy of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Los Angeles is rolling out the red carpet to some of the biggest events in the world over the next few years. From the first goal at the FIFA World Cup 26™ to the last medal at the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, Los Angeles is ready to welcome the world. It’s also going to be a banner next few years for LA’s arts & culture scene with milestone moments that will only be matched by infrastructure developments that will transform the City of Angels.
With so much happening now and on the horizon, book your hotel now or check out where to check in next at these new hotels.
Made in L.A. 2025
Made in L.A. 2025 is the seventh iteration of the Hammer’s signature biennial exhibition that showcases artists practicing throughout the greater Los Angeles area. The 28 participants in the exhibition present work not only made in the city but also grounded in its complex and unfolding terrain. Neither myth nor monolith, Los Angeles is many things to many people, and its dissonance is perhaps its most distinguishing feature. The works presented in this year’s biennial include film, painting, theater, choreography, photography, sculpture, sound, and video. Attitude draws them together: Each engages with this city in ways alternately literal, formal, material, and metaphoric. Conceived or made in Los Angeles, they are of this city and nowhere else.
Dine LA
The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board presents Dine LA Restaurant Week (Jan. 23 to Feb. 6) and again in summer 2026. The 15-day event invites visitors and locals alike to experience the diverse culinary offerings available throughout Los Angeles and L.A. County. One of the largest restaurant weeks in the country, Dine LA features a lineup of more than 400 restaurants across the city offering special prix fixe lunch and dinner menus spanning a wide range of global cuisines.
NBA All-Star Weekend
The NBA All-Star Game is returning to Inglewood for the first time in over forty years. Hosted by the Los Angeles Clippers at the city’s new Intuit Dome on Feb. 15, 2026, it’s the focus of an entire All-Star weekend of hoops-related events. The fun starts on Friday, Feb. 13 with NBA Rising Stars, which showcases the skills of top rookies and second-year NBA players. On Saturday, the State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature the Kia Skills Challenge, the Starry 3-Point Challenge, and AT&T Slam Dunk. Of course, all these are just appetizers for the All-Star Game itself on Sunday, an exhibition contest for two dozen of the NBA’s top players that is marking its 75th annual edition at the Intuit Dome and its record seventh time in Los Angeles.
Dataland
Refik Anadol Studio presents DATALAND, the world’s first Museum of AI Arts, which is set to open in Spring 2026 at The Grand LA, the Frank Gehry-designed development in the heart of Downtown. Conceived as a living museum where human imagination meets machine creativity, DATALAND redefines artistic expression for the age of artificial intelligence. In anticipation of the opening of DATALAND, which boasts five distinct galleries in a 25,000-square-foot space, is a first look at Gallery C – Infinity Room.
Hailing from Istanbul, Türkiye, DATALAND co-founders Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç have cemented their deep commitment to the city of Los Angeles by establishing the Museum of AI Arts’ flagship location in their adopted home.
“Los Angeles is the perfect city to launch DATALAND, a forward-thinking, revolutionary museum in support of the fields to which I have dedicated my career: art, science, technology and AI research,” says Anadol. “L.A. has long been a city that looks to the future in art, music, cinema, architecture, and more, and it feels natural to open DATALAND here. To have a permanent space for us to develop a new paradigm of what a museum can be, by fusing human imagination with machine intelligence and the most advanced technologies available, is a realization of one of my biggest dreams. To do so in a building designed by one of my heroes, Frank Gehry, is almost unbelievable.”
David Geffen Galleries - LACMA
Created to house the permanent art collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the curvy concrete-and-glass David Geffen Galleries were revealed to thousands of guests (sans artworks) at special previews in June, including a once-in-a-lifetime sonic preview with Kamasi Washington. The sprawling structure, which straddles the Miracle Mile’s Wilshire Boulevard, forms part of a 20-year LACMA expansion effort aimed at creating an inclusive space that embraces all communities and artistic traditions. The new galleries are set for a grand opening in April 2026 alongside an education center, restaurant spaces, a shop and event space.
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Scheduled to open in 2026 in Exposition Park, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art comprises billion-dollar futuristic architecture surrounded by 11 acres of eclectic landscaping. Co-founded by celebrated Star Wars and Indiana Jones filmmaker George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, this curvaceous construction will house all forms of visual storytelling from painting, photography, comic art, illustration and sculpture to the arts of filmmaking. Artists expected to feature upon its opening include Judy Baca (co-founder of LA’s Social and Public Art Resource Center), Charles M. Schulz (Peanuts cartoonist), concept artist Ralph McQuarrie (Star Wars), and painter Norman Rockwell.
Holocaust Museum: Building Truth
Located at Pan Pacific Park, the Holocaust Museum was founded in 1961 by Holocaust survivors and is the oldest museum of its kind in the United States.
In November 2023, the Holocaust Museum officially broke ground on its Building Truth expansion project. The new Jona Goldrich Campus will allow the museum to keep survivor voices alive, increase its visibility, and amplify its reach and impact. Designed by award-winning architect Hagy Belzberg, the expansion will include new indoor and outdoor spaces that will double the museum's footprint in Pan Pacific Park.
A new Learning Center Pavilion along The Grove Drive, adjacent to the existing building, will include a dedicated theater for USC Shoah Foundation’s Dimensions in Testimony; a 200-seat theater for film screenings, concerts, conferences and public programs; outdoor reflective spaces; two classrooms for large student groups and programs for younger audiences; and 2,500 square feet of special exhibit space. In addition, a new Boxcar Pavilion built to house an authentic boxcar found outside of the Majdanek death camp in Poland will be constructed on top of the existing building.
The Magic Flute - Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Opening on May 30, 2026 and running through June 21, LA Opera’s The Magic Flute brings the most-viewed opera production in recorded history back to the City of Angels by popular demand. A fittingly emblematic final production for James Conlon’s celebrated tenure as LA Opera Music Director, this incarnation of The Magic Flute marries incredible interactive projected animations to Mozart’s earworm score and starring roles for Miles Mykkanen (as Prince Tamino), Sydney Mancasola (Pamina), Kyle Miller (Papageno), Aigul Khismatullina (Queen of the Night), and Kwangchul Youn (Sarastro). Running two hours and forty minutes, including an intermission, the production is sung in German with English subtitles.
U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship
The U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship comes to the nearly century-old course at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Designed free of charge by amateur architect George C. Thomas, the 1927 course has proven to be an incredible bargain, renowned for both its wonderfully natural layout and new challenges at every hole (Arnold Palmer dubbed it “one of the great tests of golf”). The current home of the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour, the Riviera’s course will also host men’s and women’s golf competitions at the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Women’s Open will coincide with the centenary of the Riviera Country Club, which is additionally home to one of the oldest and largest tennis clubs in the Western U.S.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift - Universal Studios Hollywood
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift - Universal Studios Hollywood (2026)
Universal Studios Hollywood has announced its first-ever high-speed outdoor roller coaster! Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will join the theme park family in 2026. The dynamic new thrill ride, themed to Universal Pictures’ blockbuster film saga, Fast & Furious, will elevate the guest experience with innovative and technological achievements never previously employed in a rollercoaster. Renowned for creating groundbreaking and imaginative rides and attractions, Universal Studios Hollywood will bring innovative and technological achievements never previously employed to this all-new thrill ride.
FIFA World Cup
Globally recognized as the world’s most prestigious soccer competition, the FIFA World Cup is also the most widely viewed and followed sporting event on the planet. Colloquially known as just “the World Cup,” the event has steadily grown since its inaugural 1930 edition, with the 2026 tournament marking a huge expansion from its traditional 32 national teams to 48. This has required joint hosting by 16 cities across three countries: the U.S., Canada and Mexico. To the delight of local fans, Los Angeles is a host city, with the opening match for the U.S. team (who qualify automatically, as hosts) on June 12, 2026; four group stage matches; two knockout matches; and a quarterfinal all being played at Inglewood’s 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium.
LAX Modernization
If you’ve flown in or out of LAX recently, you’ve likely noticed that major developments are afoot. All that construction is evidence of a massive, multi-billion dollar modernization project – one of the largest public works programs in Los Angeles history – aimed at improving operational efficiency and the passenger experience through updated infrastructure. For flyers, the highlights of this epic undertaking will be a new Automated People Mover train providing time-certain access to terminals, parking, and passenger pickup/drop-off points. Set to open in January 2026, the APM will also connect to the new Consolidated Rent-A-Car Facility. The LAX/Metro Transit Center is now open and making the airport better integrated than ever before into the region it serves.
West Harbor - San Pedro
There’s always a lot going on along the San Pedro seafront, with the Port of Los Angeles busier than at any time in its 117-year history. But there’s now much more public-facing activity, with the $170-million West Harbor complex set for completion in early 2026. Occupying the old Ports O’Call site, the 42-acre West Harbor will comprise more than 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurants plus a roughly 6,200 seat amphitheater.
Alongside cargo and commerce, ports are places where cultures and ideas connect, which is being recognized and celebrated by the development of ArtPORT LA. Set to open in 2028, ArtPORT will be a 25-acre global sculpture park occupying the waterfront 22nd Street Park.
Noma Pop-Ups
"I truly fell in love with Los Angeles." ~ René Redzepi, Noma
Later this year, celebrated Danish chef René Redzepi will be scouting Los Angeles for a planned 5-6 months of hugely anticipated pop-ups in 2026. Redzepi is the man behind Copenhagen’s three-Michelin Star Noma restaurant, which has topped Restaurant magazine’s World’s Best Restaurants list no less than five times with its reinvention of Nordic cuisine that has included serving reindeer brain, fried moss and fermented ants. Redzepi and his inspired team of chefs, foragers and fermenters have previously descended upon Brooklyn, Sydney, Tulum and Kyoto; for high-end foodies his arrival in LA is the culinary equivalent of a city hosting an Olympic Games – which Los Angeles will also be doing in 2028!
Destination Crenshaw
Spurred by plans to run the new Crenshaw/LAX airport light rail line through Black LA’s historic neighborhood, Destination Crenshaw is rising to the opportunity to expose thousands of tourists and new visitors to the cultural heart of the city’s Black community. The under-construction project is a 1.3-mile-long open-air museum along Crenshaw Boulevard dedicated to preserving the history and culture of African Americans including new pocket parks, murals, outdoor sculptures, street furniture and landscaping. The project will include funding commissions for more than 100 Black artists, planting a hundred trees, investing in local businesses, and creating local jobs, while celebrating the art, energy, legacy, and accomplishments of Black LA.
Meow Wolf
Founded in 2008 as a DIY art collective in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Meow Wolf has evolved into a pioneering arts and entertainment company with five permanent exhibitions that have welcomed millions of awe-inspired visitors. Beginning with House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe, Meow Wolf has since opened similarly mind-bending dreamscapes in Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, and Houston—each transporting guests into breathtaking realms of imagination. The sixth location is slated to open in West Los Angeles in 2026, transforming a former movie theater into an immersive, art-driven universe that reflects both the spirit of the city and Meow Wolf’s signature maximalism.
Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center
Scheduled to open in 2026, Glendale’s Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center of California will be a cultural campus aimed at enriching the community and educating the public on the Armenian American story. Its permanent exhibition will be devoted to the Armenian Genocide alongside temporary exhibits on diverse cultures and subject matters. Under construction at the time of writing, renderings of the 60,000 square-foot facility, designed by Glendale-based Alajajian-Marcoosi Architects, show a striking, angular façade facing a spacious lawn. Behind, a central plaza will connect to the Glendale Central Library, the city’s adult recreation center, the Museum of Neon Art, parks, play areas and pedestrianized streets.
T&T Supermarket
Cult Canadian Asian grocery store T&T Supermarket, which specializes in Chinese groceries and hot food, has announced the opening of a new 61,000 square-foot store in LA’s Chino Hills in fall 2026. Founded in 1993 with thirty locations north of the border, T&T first appeared stateside in Bellevue, Washington at the end of 2024. The growing chain has earned a passionate following for its specialty Chinese groceries and snacks, bakery, and seafood including sashimi-grade fish, live crabs on ice, imitation crab, shrimp, and abalone. But the longest lines upon opening will likely be at T&T’s hot food counter where crispy fried chicken, Beijing duck, Taiwan-style rice rolls, and Chinese crepes will be exotic to some palates and comfortingly nostalgic for others.
Super Bowl LXI
The NFL announced that Super Bowl LXI will be hosted in Los Angeles in 2027, with the game played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Super Bowl LXI comes just five years after SoFi Stadium first hosted Super Bowl LVI in 2022. It will be the ninth edition in the Los Angeles region, marking 60 years since Super Bowl I at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
2027 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament
For the sixth time since 2013, Pepperdine has been awarded host duties for the 2027 West Regional of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. "Hosting the Regional in 2027 is a great addition to the decade of high-profile sports and entertainment events coming to Los Angeles," President & CEO of LASEC Kathryn Schloessman said. "After a successful event in 2024, we are excited to partner again with Crypto.com Arena, AEG and Pepperdine University to welcome this event back for the sixth time to Los Angeles in 2027."
2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games
THE POWER OF SPORT. THE MAGIC OF LA. From legendary venues steeped in Olympic history to stunning locations where the sand meets the surf, plus a newly expanded and modernized Convention Center, Los Angeles offers the perfect backdrop for athletes and fans to come together in a global celebration of sport, culture and unity. LA28’s Impact and Sustainability Plan is a comprehensive roadmap designed to inspire action ahead of 2028 and create a lasting legacy for Los Angeles and beyond. The plan reinforces LA28’s commitment to community impact and sustainable solutions, from uplifting local and small businesses to investing in a more resilient Los Angeles for the long-term benefit of the region.
Los Angeles Convention Center Expansion and Modernization
The Los Angeles Convention Center expansion and modernization underscores the City’s commitment to maintaining its status as a world-class destination. The expansion will include a contiguous exhibit hall of more than 750,000 square feet with 190,000 square feet of new exhibit space. The majority of construction will be complete by Spring 2028, with final project completion in Spring 2029 following a planned pause during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This public infrastructure investment will create more than 15,000 jobs, add $652 million in General Fund tax revenue over 30 years and draw in over $150 million in additional visitor spending each year.
Date TBA
Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center - California Science Center
In 2012, the retired Space Shuttle Endeavour was moved to the California Science Center in Exposition Park. But its new home was just a temporary, steel-framed structure while its permanent exhibition space, the 200,000-square-foot Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, was under construction. In the summer of 2023, the various Endeavour components began their six-month move into the new facility. The incredible Endeavour exhibit will be one of three new multi-level galleries (Aviation, Space, and Shuttle) spanning four floors.
