Paris Olympics 2024: Where Sport Meets Art

The Summer Olympics takes place in Paris this year. Discover the four new sports - including Breaking - and their impact on the traditional
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Posted: Jan 31, 2024 | Updated: 1 month ago

Striving to become the most progressive Olympics to date, the Paris Olympic Games makes significant strides. These measures include achieving net-zero consumerism, promoting gender equality, and enhancing inclusivity by introducing more team sports.

Whilst all countries try to be the ‘hostess with the mostest’, France’s introduction of four new sports marks a departure from the traditional sports that has defined the Olympics for decades.

New to Paris Olympics 2024

Bringing a fresh texture to conventional sport, four new sports are coming to the Paris Olympics: breaking, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing. Whilst softball, baseball and karate leave. Like every Olympic Games, the hosting country has autonomy over the sporting events. Yet, the introduction of ‘breaking’ is controversial, encouraging inquiry into the future of the sports and the Olympic Games.

What is Breaking?

Rooting from New York City during the late 1960s, breaking incorporates a variation of stylistic elements. Stemming from hip-hop origin, the style includes freezes, floorwork and tricks. The most successful athletes are defined by their inventive variation of the style joined with their musicality and improvisation.

The artistic sport is far from the traditional sports where the Olympics began in Athens in 776 B.C. with simply running, jumping, wrestling, throwing and equestrian. So, what is driving the introduction of breaking?

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According to the IOC, Paris 2024 submitted its proposal to integrate four new sports closely associated with the younger generation. This initiative rewards both creativity and athletic performance, which perhaps weaves a new thread into sport’s definition: creativity.

Tackling the growth of independent sporting events, the IOC aims to reignite its connection with the younger generation. The sport plants a new stem into the games, growing and developing alongside society’s modern interests.

So where is breaking today? Red bull has captured breaking for the last decade through live global competitions, fuelling an ambitious edge and a dance community. However, Paris will be the first time that the sport can emerge from the shadows.

According to Korean B-Boy Skim (Kim Heon-Jun), judging will measure breaking by five variables: musicality, vocabulary, originality, technique and execution. Contrasting to traditional sports, measured by the stopwatch or distance, breaking requires a technical eye to determine a winner. Nonetheless, breaking seems to be an urban spin-off from gymnastics’ ribbon dancing, yet the spectators’ have a heightened sense of inclusion and relatability.

The Youth Olympics Games in Buenos Aires 2018 captured breaking’s lively spectatorship with the audience cheering and dancing only metres away. The event host influences the athletes’ performance, encouraging the audience to applaud, scream and shout for the competitors, implying their support is crucial to the athletes’ execution and success.

Also Read: Who Will Win the Six Nations 2024?

This represents a notable shift from the pin-dropping silence that echoes at the start line of traditional Olympic events, transforming the audience to be a fundamental factor for athlete success. Nodding in the right direction for Paris’ aims to increase youth spectatorship and embrace contemporary culture.

The Future of Breaking

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Breaking’s introduction to Paris 2024 carves a new path for the history of the Olympic games, weaving athleticism and creativity into the spirit of sport. Breaking showcases the games’ drive towards an inclusive spectator atmosphere, promising a lively energy to the Olympic stage.

Therefore, the trajectory of the Olympics, with a new path, brings excitement to the future of sporting events. With anticipation building for the introduction of breaking in Paris, the Olympics illustrates its ambition to embrace the dynamic sports landscape of the 21st century.

Image Credit: Deposit Photos

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