If you gasped out loud in excitement at the news that breaking, the original, and official, term for break-dancing, will be a part of the Olympic Games, go ahead and take a breath. The dancers competing in the elite sport will eventually get their time on the medals podium, but not until the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, after next year’s coronavirus-postponed Tokyo Games.
According to CNN, the International Olympic Committee announced that breaking would be added to the upcoming Paris Olympics on Monday, six years after the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires included the DanceSport event.
“Today is a historic occasion, not only for b-boys and b-girls but for all dancers around the world,” said World DanceSport Federation president Shawn Ray in a statement. “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.”
In the official format, 16 b-boys and 16-b-girls will compete in one-on-one battles. The IOC also announced skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing, which had been scheduled to premiere at the Tokyo Olympics, are now set to debut in 2024, giving us a whole presidential term to wait longingly to watch our new favorite events.
