Breakdancing lands the official tag!
Breakdancing officially called breaking, taking cue from the 1970s by hip pop pioneers has just been approved by The International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a competitive sport for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Breaking landed the approval along with skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing by the body in efforts towards attracting a younger audience to the historic competition. It will be the first DanceSport event to appear at an Olympic Games, after trials two years ago at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“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 organizers, the WDSF staff and, most importantly, the breaking community itself.”
Meanwhile, two sports with troubled governing bodies — boxing and weightlifting — saw the biggest cuts to the number of athletes they can have in Paris.