Breakdancing Officially Named an Olympic Sport; Will Debut at 2024 Paris Games

The International Olympic Committee officially introduced breakdancing for the 2024 Olympics in Paris on Monday as the organization attempts to attract younger viewership.

In addition, the IOC confirmed skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing for the Paris Games. The three sports had been added for the 2020 Summer Olympics on a preliminary basis. Despite being untested given the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports received approval for 2024 to help Paris ready its facilities.

Breaking, as it will be known for Olympic purposes, is a youth-driven sport largely comprised of teenagers and people in their early 20s. The United States has overwhelmingly been dominant in International B-Boy championships, while South Korea, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom also have strongholds in the sport.

American dancer Logan "Logistx" Edra told Tim Baker of Sky:

"It can resonate with a lot of people because hip-hop culture resonates with a lot of people, hip-hop music resonates with a lot of people.

"It being in the Olympics, it makes sense that people would refer to it as (a sport) but I think one thing for the breaking community is we want to make sure that it's not known as just a sport but an art, a sport, a culture."

The IOC sees embracing more youth-laden sports as a way to potentially find a new audience as Olympic ratings have experienced a sizable dip in recent years.