Breakdancing made its debut at the Olympics, but it was apparently a one-time event, as the sport will not be busting a move in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The 2024 Paris Games was the first time breakdancing emerged as an Olympic event, despite being included in the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, reported People.
The decision to exclude breakdancing from the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles was made a few years ago. In 2022, the International Olympic Committee announced the 28 sports approved for the 2028 Games, and breakdancing was omitted from the list.
Here is more of what People had to say about the sport of breakdancing:
“It’s up to each local organizing committee to determine which [additional] sports to put forward that fit with their vision of the Games,” IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said in a 2023 press briefing of why the Los Angeles Olympic organizers chose not to include the sport. “Obviously breaking fit very clearly with Paris’s vision of a very youth-focused urban engagement.”
In October 2023, the governing body of breaking, the World DanceSport Federation, released a statement that addressed breaking being left out of the upcoming 2028 Olympics.
“While profoundly disappointed with the LA28 decision, the WDSF is proud of all that it has accomplished, together with the breaking community, in an extremely short amount of time,” the statement read, in part. “Our relationship with the IOC and other Olympic Movement stakeholders remains strong, and our work on behalf of Breaking has been unwavering from Day 1 of its Olympic journey, which began ahead of Breaking’s debut at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018.”
What has been the reaction to breaking’s exclusion in the 2028 Olympics?
While the news that breaking won’t return to the 2028 Olympics is surely disheartening for its athletes, the dance community is appreciative of the sport’s inclusion and recognition at the Paris Games.
“It was a miracle that we were even in Paris to begin with,” Zack Slusser, vice president of Breaking for Gold USA and USA Dance previously said, per The Washington Post. “But for the breaking community, it’s an achievement worth celebrating, even if it doesn’t return to the Olympic stage.”
“The amount of exposure to the right people that can bring real change to our community, to our platform to help it grow — it’ll be significant to us,” he added. “It’ll allow us, for the first time, to find sustainability and help us elevate our platform.”
Australian breaker Raygun expressed her disappointment at the sport’s exclusion in the 2028 Olympics. Particularly, she shared her frustration over the decision being made prior to the sport’s debut in Paris.
“It was disappointing that it was decided before we’d even had a chance to show it so I think that was possibly a little premature,” she said after competing. “I wonder if they’re kicking themselves now, particularly because they’ve got some great American breakers who could totally be on the podium.”