With the curtain about to fall on an exciting summer of sport in Paris, attention will soon turn to the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The glamorous Southern California city will welcome the world’s top athletes in 2028, 44 years after it last hosted the Summer Games.
Once the closing ceremony concludes in France on Sunday (Hollywood star Tom Cruise is rumoured to be taking part, taking over from previous hosts), Los Angeles can finally begin its preparations for four years from now.
So what can fans expect at the upcoming Olympic Games in California?
DailyMail.com has taken a look at the sports, venues, celebrities and athletes likely to take part in the 2028 Games.
With the Paris Games almost over, attention will soon turn to the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Sports reorganization
The Los Angeles Olympics will bring back some old sports and introduce new ones in 2028, with cricket returning after a 128-year absence.
Cricket’s only appearance at the Olympics dates back to 1900, but in four years’ time the world-famous bat-and-ball game will be revived in a six-team tournament.
However, it could take place around 2,000 miles from Los Angeles in New York, which is expected to host matches after also hosting a handful of T20 World Cup matches this year.
Also returning to the 2028 Olympics will be baseball and softball, two sports that were scrapped for Paris after appearing at the Tokyo 2020 Games, while lacrosse will be played for the first time in 120 years.
Several new sports are also preparing for their long-awaited Olympic debut, including flag football, a non-contact version of American football.
There are hopes that NFL superstars will take part in the first-ever flag football competition at the Games, the league’s Players Association confirmed earlier this year.
“The players want to do it. We support the players who want to do it,” union president Lloyd Howell Jr. said in February. “So we’re all for it.”
Cricket is set to return to the Olympics in 2028, with matches to be played 2,000 miles away in New York after the city hosted T20 World Cup games this year.
NFL stars like Travis Kelce are likely to make an appearance when flag football makes its debut at the Games.
Although it remains to be seen whether boxing will still be an Olympic sport in four years’ time.
Howell went on to admit there are some hurdles to overcome, including training camp dates overlapping with the Olympics and potential injuries to stars.
However, fans could see players like Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts (who recently starred in a promotional video announcing the inclusion of flag football by 2028) at the Los Angeles Games.
Squash is also due to make its debut in four years’ time, although it remains to be seen whether boxing will still be an Olympic sport when the next one comes around, as a new federation will be needed to manage it after the International Olympic Committee cut ties with the International Boxing Association.
Historical places
SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams, will host the largest swimming event in Olympic history at the Los Angeles Games, with up to 40,000 fans expected to fill the 70,000-capacity stadium.
Swim meets typically draw about 15,000 people, meaning SoFi promises to more than double that number if all goes according to plan.
Meanwhile, gymnastics will take place at Crypto.com Arena, where LeBron James and the Lakers basketball team play, along with the Sparks (WNBA) and the Kings (hockey).
SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams, will host the largest swimming event in Olympic history in 2028
Track and field events will be held at the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which has already been remodeled ahead of 2028.
As for the athletics events, they will be held at the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which has already been remodeled for 2028.
The Colosseum was the main venue for the 1984 Olympic Games, where American Carl Lewis won four gold medals in the men’s 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump events at the prestigious venue.
In addition to SoFi, both stadiums will host parts of the opening and closing ceremonies within four years.
Oklahoma City, 1,300 miles from Los Angeles, is scheduled to host the softball and canoe slalom events, while beach volleyball and 3×3 basketball will be held along Santa Monica and Venice Beach, though subject to possible changes.
Celebrities in the city
With him set to take part in this weekend’s closing ceremony in Paris, you can bet your bottom dollar that Tom Cruise will be a regular presence in the audience during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
And Cruise will almost certainly be joined by a host of Hollywood stars looking to grab a piece of history for themselves.
Tom Cruise is expected to take over from current hosts Paris at Sunday’s closing ceremony, meaning he is likely to be a regular presence at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Blake Lively are also Los Angeles natives, meaning they could be attending events at the Games as well.
Some of the most famous actors and actresses in Los Angeles include Leonardo Di Caprio, Jake Gyllenhaal, Blake Lively and Angelina Jolie.
Reality star Kim Kardashian is also a Los Angeles native, meaning she could make an appearance, too, along with music icons Miley Cyrus, Will.i.am and Billie Eilish.
Retired sports legends from the city who could attend some events also include basketball great Magic Johnson and hockey royalty Wayne Gretzky.
Which American athletes will be there?
Barring injury, American sprint sensation Noah Lyles will almost certainly be heading to his third Games in Los Angeles after winning 100m gold in Paris this summer.
And after missing out on a famous 200-meter double, Lyles may have another chance to become only the eighth man in history to win both races at the same Olympics.
Athletes such as Gabby Thomas, Sha’Carri Richardson and Kenny Bednarek are also expected to attend other Games in 2028.
However, it remains unclear whether gymnastics superstar Simone Biles will make it to California.
Following her historic run at the Paris Games, where she became the most decorated American gymnast of all time by winning three gold medals and one silver, Biles hinted that she could well have competed in her final Olympics at the age of 27.
Noah Lyles is almost certain to attend his third Games in Los Angeles after winning gold in the 100m in Paris this summer.
But it’s unclear whether gymnastics superstar Simone Biles will make it to California.
“The next Olympics will be at home, so you never know,” she told reporters in France. “But I’m getting very old.”
However, her teammates Suni Lee, 21, and Jordan Chiles, 23, will surely be there, while LSU and TikTok sensation Olivia Dunne could even be an All-American gymnast in 2028.
The Los Angeles Olympics will likely come too late for men’s basketball legend LeBron James, who will be 43 at the time, but female superstars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are slated to be there after being left off the U.S. roster in Paris.
Dodgers baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani could very well be involved in Los Angeles, but it remains to be seen whether 32-year-old Aaron Judge will still be at the top of his game four years from now.