Breakdancing proposed as Olympic sport for 2024

Feb 22, 2019 06:00 am

Breakdancing will become an Olympic sport in 2024 - if the International Olympic Committee (IOC) backs the inclusion of four sports proposed by the organisers of Paris Olympics.

The Paris 2024 organising committee said yesterday the four sports - also including surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing - would reflect the French capital's identity and help take the Games out of stadiums and into the streets.

The organisers said they wanted to deliver a Games that were "in keeping with the times and inspire new audiences and attract young people... and which can be played anywhere and anytime in urban and other environments".

Skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing will all be making their debuts in next year's Tokyo Games.

Under new IOC rules first introduced for the Tokyo Games, Olympic host cities can hand-pick sports and propose them for inclusion in those Games if they are popular in that country and add to the Games' appeal.

The IOC needs to approve the French proposals before they can be formally added to the Paris Games sports programme. Breakdancing, known as breaking, appeared at last year's Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, in the form of head-to-head "battles". - REUTERS