Everything You Need to Know About Los Angeles 2028

All sporting action at the Olympic Games in Paris has now concluded and the famous five-ringed flag is being handed over to the 2028 host city, Los Angeles.

US citizens travelling to Paris for this year’s Olympics told the BBC they have high hopes for 2028.

LA resident Marisa believes the event will be appropriately sprinkled with local “Hollywood glamour.” But she still thinks Paris has set a very high standard.

Fellow Americans speaking to the BBC worry that Los Angeles will not be able to match France’s impressive public transport network.

As the countdown to Los Angeles draws near, here’s what we know so far about the next Summer Olympics – which will also mark the first Paralympics in Los Angeles.

The opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympics will take place on July 14, 2028, and the closing ceremony will take place a little over two weeks later, on July 30.

The Paralympic opening ceremony will take place on August 15 and the closing ceremony will take place on August 27.

In total, more than 50 Olympic and Paralympic sports will be contested in more than 800 events.

The 2028 Games will mark the third time Los Angeles has hosted the Games, and organizers – keen to emphasise their sustainability credentials – have said the event will not require any new, permanent construction.

Dozens of existing venues have been reserved for use instead, including the LA Galaxy soccer team’s stadium and the LA Memorial Coliseum, which will host track and field events as it did at LA’s previous two Olympics.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, in a city famous for its palm-fringed coastline, beach volleyball is expected to be held on an actual beach – something that was not possible in Paris this year.

But some venues will need to be adapted. For example, SoFi Stadium, as it is currently known, in the suburb of Inglewood, will be converted to host swimming races, with a fancy Olympic pool added.

Meanwhile, student housing at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will be converted into an athletes village during the summer and provide training facilities.

From a sustainability perspective, it remains to be seen whether LA can deliver the “car-free” Olympics it promised after winning the bid in 2017.

Moving thousands of spectators across the sprawling California city poses a huge challenge for organizers, with current hopes for car-free transportation pinned on a fleet of buses after plans to upgrade the major rail network fell through, according to the Los Angeles Times.

And it’s not cheap either.

The most recent budget estimates project spending of nearly $7bn (£5.5bn) on the Games, with transport upgrades also included.

In addition to familiar Olympic sports, the Los Angeles Games will see the revival of some long-absent sports, as well as some new additions.

• Cricket will be held at the Olympics for the first time since 1900. In LA, we can expect to see T20 tournaments – a shortened format where both teams bowl and bat no more than 20 times. Great Britain will be proud of their medal chances, as they have some of the world’s top cricketers
• Lacrosse lacrosse is also making a comeback. Despite being one of the oldest sports played in North America, lacrosse has not been played at the Olympic level in more than a century. A new format will be introduced in 2028, in which teams of six will use their lacrosse sticks to shoot the ball into a goal.
• Baseball/Softball – Baseball and similar ball sports, for men and women, will also return, after being dropped from Paris in 2024
• pumpkin will appear at the Olympics for the first time after years of lobbying from fans.
• will also make its Olympic debut. It is a non-contact version of gridiron football, played on a smaller pitch with smaller teams, where tackles are made by removing the opponent’s flag. According to the British American Football Association, it is the fastest growing variant of the sport in the UK.
• There is also a new Paralympic sport: skydiving This challenge challenges athletes of different classifications to climb a 15m (50ft) high wall using handrails.

Several other relatively new Olympic sports on the list will continue, including surf, Skateboarding And sport climbing.

But breakdebuted at the Paris Olympics, was not selected as one of the events – much to the disappointment of some, as this type of street dance Pioneered by the United States.

We can expect to see some of the biggest names from Paris 2024 in Los Angeles.

Keely Hodgkinson won gold in the women’s 800m in France. She will be 26 at the next Olympics – still in her sporting prime.

One of the breakout stars of this year’s Olympics is a swimmer. Leon Marchandwas cheered by Parisian crowds as he won four gold medals every time his head popped above the water.

Marchand will also be 26 in 2028 and looks set to come to LA looking to beat any rival who wants to claim his Olympic crown in swimming.

The majority of the contenders in this year’s skateboarding event will continue to compete in 2028, especially given the remarkably young age of the athletes in Paris, such as the 11-year-old Trinh Hao Hao of China and England Brown sky.

Brown, a two-time Olympic bronze medallist, will still be just 20 at the next Games – the question is whether she will skate or qualify for surfing next time.

However, the participation of other global stars remains uncertain. Simone Bilesarguably the most recognizable name in Paris, will turn 31. Few gymnasts continue competing past their 30s, but superstar Biles would love an Olympics in front of a home crowd and an attempt to improve her medal tally to 11.

Newly crowned men’s 100m champion Noah Lyles will also be 31 when he attends LA 2028 – but is still fit and ready to follow in the footsteps of fellow American Carl Lewis in defending this most prestigious Olympic title.

But there could be changes to the England squad. Swimmer Adam Peaty has hinted that Paris is his last Olympics, and the diver Tom Daley only returned from retirement to win a silver medal in Paris, at the request of his young son.

However, GB rower Helen Glover She has not ruled out a fourth Olympics and a fourth medal attempt in LA – when she turns 42.

During lunchtime, fans gathered at 3rd Base Sports Bar in Los Angeles to watch the U.S. women’s Olympic basketball team compete in Paris. Cheers erupted as soon as the U.S. team took the court.

In just four years, many of those sporting events will be held just a few miles away.

However, the excitement here comes with anxiety – and a little fear.

The city is no stranger to hosting major events, from the Oscars to the Super Bowl, but it’s also well aware of the downsides of hosting large events.

LA is also known to have the worst traffic in the United States and the city’s poor transportation system is complained about both nationally and internationally.

At the time of the bid, it was hoped the Olympics would force the city to address some of its transport problems, but the cancellation of plans to expand the rail network and the decision to add a bus fleet have not pleased residents.

This is also not good for the millions of tourists that the Olympics usually bring to the host city.

“There’s already a lot of traffic every day,” Cory said, while enjoying a burger at the bar. “And then you bring people in who don’t know where they’re going…”

Los Angeles also has the highest rate of homelessness in the United States.

Elisha told the BBC she “hopes” the 2028 Olympics can be a catalyst to tackle homelessness in the city and find a long-term solution.

The Olympics will highlight LA’s picturesque and dramatic coastline and the iconic Hollywood sign that towers over the city’s skyline, but the West Coast metropolis can’t boast the same lavish historical backdrop as Paris.

But while Los Angeles may not have iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower or the Palace of Versailles, the city still has its own charm, Elisha notes.

“This isn’t Paris, but LA has Hollywood — and we can make anything happen in Hollywood.”

The last time Los Angeles hosted the Olympics, in 1984, Prince topped the US Billboard singles chart and the Games were boycotted by the Cold War-era Soviet Union over commercialism and security concerns.

Britain won five gold medals. Among the champions were decathlete Daley Thompson, javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson, a young rower named Steve Redgrave and 1,500m runner Seb Coe – who went on to become head of World Athletics.

But the undoubted sporting superstar of Los Angeles in 1984 was homegrown talent Carl Lewis, who won gold medals in the 100m, 200m, long jump and men’s 4x100m relay.

The United States dominated the medal standings and – unlike today – had no rival in China.

Among many historic moments, the 1984 Olympics saw the first Olympic marathon for women.

That year’s Paralympics were held jointly in Stoke Mandeville, England, and New York – marking the last time a host city did not host both the Olympics and the Paralympics.

The 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles took place during the Great Depression, in a California that was much less built up than it is today.

There is no event equivalent to the modern-day Paralympics.

These Olympics were significantly shorter than previous ones and had fewer athletes participating.

But crowds were reported to be huge – including around 100,000 at the opening ceremony.

This year also marked the debut of the now familiar medal podium.

Production research and additional images by Yazmina Garcia