What is breaking? Here’s what to know about the brand new Olympic sport

The 2024 Summer Olympics are into their final week, and with five days left of competition, the Games’ sole new event has still yet to begin.

Though much of the attention during the Olympics thus far has been lent to sports such as Swimming, Gymnastics and Track & Field, the Paris Games’ brand new event is sure to draw plenty of attention later this week.

“Breaking,” more commonly known as breakdancing, is making its Olympics debut at the Paris Games, marking the first ever dance sport to be represented at the Olympic level.

Though anticipation for the unique event, which will feature both a women’s and men’s competition, will be high, there is still a few days left before the dancers will hit the floor.

Olympics viewers will get their first taste of breaking on Friday, Aug. 9, with the women’s qualification and final both taking place that day.

The men’s qualification and final are both scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10, just one day before the Paris Olympics conclude with the Closing Ceremony.

The sport made its successful debut at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it topped 1 million viewers, according to NBC Olympics, far outpacing audiences for many other sports. 

The Olympics declared it an “outstanding success,” and now both the organizers and the athletes hope to translate that magic to the biggest stage in sports.

Breaking joins other newer sports, including three that were added to the Olympic program for the first time at the 2020 Tokyo Games — surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing.

Adding those sports to the official Olympics roster is an attempt by the International Olympic Committee to reach a younger audience, given that “all four are easy to take up and participants form communities that are very active on social media,” according to the Paris Olympics.

The committee, known as the IOC, hopes millions of kids worldwide will be inspired to take up the sports themselves.

What is breaking?

The dance-battle sport is “characterised by acrobatic movements, stylised footwork and the key role played by the DJ and the MC (master of ceremonies) during battles,” according to the Paris Olympics.

Some of the moves will have audiences wondering where the halfpipe is as athletes twist and turn like they should have boards under their feet.

The sport’s techniques include top rock (standing footwork) and down rock (moves on the floor), power moves (twists and spins) and the freeze, when breakers freeze in poses while using their heads or hands for support.

How will it work?

The breaking competition in Paris will be divided into two events — one for women and one for men — and they will take place Aug. 9 and 10 at La Concorde Urban Park.

In total, 16 B-boys or 16 B-girls will “go face to face in spectacular solo battles,” according to the Paris Olympics.

The competitors will show off their best moves as they try to keep up with the beat of the DJ’s tracks, improvising to stay alive in the dance battle with a combination of “power moves,” including windmills, the 6-step and freezes, according to the Paris Olympics.

Judges will then vote, paving the way for the first breaking medalists in Olympic history.