Recognizing break dancing as a high-level competitive event has been several years in the makingGETTY IMAGES
The IOC is "inching closer" to adding break dancing to the '24 Paris Games, according to Rick Maese of the WASHINGTON POST. The IOC’s executive board decided at its meeting Tuesday in Lausanne, Switzerland, to "recommend the inclusion of break dancing, along with skateboarding, sports climbing and surfing" on the Paris program. Maese noted that the proposal "still needs the approval of the full committee when it convenes in June." The four sports would then be "monitored through the end of 2020 before the board would make a final decision on their 2024 prospects." Climbing and surfing have already been approved for the '20 Tokyo Games. Recognizing break dancing as a "high-level competitive event" has been several years in the making. Through its Agenda 2020 initiative, IOC officials have been "proactively trying to attract a younger audience and broaden the scope of offerings on the Olympic menu" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/28). In L.A., David Wharton noted barely a month after Paris '24 officials proposed the addition of break dancing as an Olympic sport, a U.S. organizer has "announced it will bring a major competition" to L.A. later this spring. The Red Bull BC One will "take place at a Hollywood entertainment venue on April 27 as the first stop on a tour that will include Orlando, Philadelphia and Houston" (LATIMES.com, 3/26).
