The Olympic flame was officially extinguished during an elaborate closing ceremony Sunday, officially ending the 2024 Paris Games as Los Angeles takes over for 2028.

Setting out to prove that topping Paris isn’t mission impossible, Los Angeles rolled out a skydiving Tom Cruise, Grammy winner Billie Eilish and other stars on Sunday as it took over Olympic hosting duties from the French capital, which closed out its 2024 Games just as they started — with joy and panache, AP reported.

Capping two and a half extraordinary weeks of Olympic sports and emotion, Paris’ boisterous, star-studded closing ceremony in France’s national stadium mixed unbridled celebration with a somber call for peace from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

At what will be his last Games after announcing his intention to step down next year, Bach made a somber appeal for ”a culture of peace” in a war-torn world.

Bach, the 1976 fencing Olympic champion, said in his closing speech: “Despite all the tensions in our world, you came here from all 206 national Olympic committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team, to make the City of Light shine brighter than ever before.

Thomas Bach appeals for ”a culture of peace” in a war-torn world

“Your performances were amazing. You competed fiercely against each other. Every contest on the edge of perfection. Every performance sparking excitement around the world. You showed us what greatness we humans are capable of.

“The Olympic Games Paris 2024 were a celebration of the athletes and of sport at its best.

“The first Olympic Games delivered completely under our Olympic Agenda reforms: younger, more urban, more inclusive, more sustainable. The first Olympic Games with full gender parity.

“These were sensational Olympic Games from start to finish – or dare I say: Seine-sational Games.”

The next Summer Olympics will be in 2028 and will be hosted by Los Angeles – for the third time.

But things will be slightly different for the next Games as the IOC has green-lighted several new (and old) sports for 2028 and subtracted another from the program list that was featured in Paris.

Gymnastics, as well as other mainstream international events — such as athletics, aquatics, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, cycling and fencing — will of course be part of the 2028 Olympics.

Flag football is a variant of gridiron football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier

Flag football and squash have been approved as first-time additions in Los Angeles, while baseball, softball, lacrosse and cricket will be added after various lengths of absence.

Lacrosse has not been an Olympic sport since 1908.

Lacrosse will feature six-on-six tournaments, and medals will be awarded for the first time in 120 years.

Cricket was contested once, in Paris in 1900.

Break-dancing and perhaps boxing will be out. Formerly optional sports skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing will transition to permanent events in 2028, the IOC said.

Forbes reported that the proposed budget for the 2028 Games is $6.8 billion, according to chairman Casey Wasserman, and will be completely funded by the private sector.

The IOC said that flag football will feature men’s and women’s medal competitions, with the teams playing five-on-five on a 45-meter field.

The World Squash Federation has meanwhile tried for years to introduce the sport into the Games. They have been given the green-light for Los Angeles.

The World Squash Federation has tried for years to introduce the sport into the Games

Both sports are considered optional and may not continue at the 2023 Brisbane Games.

Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse, Cricket Are Back

Baseball was added as a permanent sport in the 1992 Barcelona Games and was dropped after 2008 before making a one-time return in Tokyo in 2020.

Softball meanwhile has been on the Olympic card five times, most recently in 2020, when host country Japan won its second consecutive gold medal. The US won the first three times.

It will be an optional sport in Los Angeles, although the competition will be held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which is the site of the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

Lacrosse will feature six-on-six tournaments, and medals will be awarded for the first time in 120 years. Canada has won the only two gold medals, in 1904 and 1908. Its B team took the bronze in 1904, and the sport was dropped after Canada and Great Britain were the only competitors in 1908.

Great Britain is the only previous cricket gold medalist, having won in the 1900 Paris Games. Great Britain and France were the only sides to compete.

Boxing meanwhile has not been cleared for Los Angeles. The IOC has stripped recognition of the International Boxing Association (IBA) for what it said was a failure to address finance and governance reforms, and the IBA has not been involved in the last two Olympic Games.

The IOC has delayed until 2025 a decision on whether to include the sport, pending the formation of a new governing body. Boxing was introduced in 1904 and has been part of the medal program since 1920.

The purported sport of break-dancing — “breaking” — threatens to be a one-hit wonder after being introduced in Paris.

Breaking is not on the schedule for the Los Angeles Games, and leaders of the sport fear funding issues will prevent reinstatement in Brisbane.