Competitive break dancing to feature at 2024 Paris Olympics
Last staged at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, the dancesport event is hoped to attract a young audience to the Summer Olympic Games.
Come 2024, there will be a new sport at the Olympic Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the inclusion of competitive break dancing for the summer games in Paris.
The sport is among four new events approved, with skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing being the other three.
Officially known as breaking, the Paris Olympics will see 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls – the term for competitive breakers, or break dancers – face off in one vs one battles. It is believed that the event was added by the IOC in an attempt to attract a younger audience to the Games.
“Today is a historic occasion, not only for b-boys and b-girls but for all dancers around the world,” said Shawn Tay, president of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF).
“The WDSF could not be prouder to have breaking included at Paris 2024, and we thank everyone who helped make it possible: the executive board of the IOC, the Paris 2024 organisers, the WDSF staff and, most importantly, the breaking community itself.”
Breaking made its debut at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. According to the WDSF, more than 30,000 people thronged the three-medal event each day.
