Why Breaking Won't Be Featured in the 2028 Olympics (and What's Taking Its Place)

Break dancing, professionally known as breaking, made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Dancers, don't flip out at this news!

Breaking (colloquially known as break dancing) made its debut at the 2024 Paris Games, turning the heads of both the dancers who whipped out their spin-filled moves and the wide-eyed viewers who tuned into the competition.

Following its introduction at the Summer Games, however, the dance-centric sport won't be getting an encore. A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee confirmed that breaking won't be featured in the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.

The decision to nix breaking from the next Summer Games is ironic given the host city is in America and the sport has flourished in New York and other US cities since the 1970s. Furthermore, the attention on its athletes — known as B-boys and B-girls — has increased tremendously since Paris.

Team Australia's Raygun, for example, is one of the dancers who made headlines after her performance on Aug. 9. Despite earning 0 points for her routine and critics calling out her unique dance moves, she won the hearts of viewers and left an impact while doing so.

"It is such an honor and a privilege to be, you know, one of sixteen women from around the world competing in breaking’s debut at the Olympics," Gunn said in an Instagram video posted ahead of her performance. "I hope that seeing breaking at the Olympics inspires a whole new generation of breakers."

Team USA's Victor Montalvo, too, turned heads as his moves won him the bronze medal. "I'm a super shy kid, so for me it was perfect because you don't need to talk to anyone. You just need the dance floor and yourself," he previously said of why he is passionate about breaking.

Read on to learn more about why breaking won't be returning to the 2028 Olympics and the sport that is taking its place at the Summer Games.

Related: Olympic Breakdancer Raygun, Who Went Viral for Her Controversial Style, Claps Back at Critics: 'I Do My Thing'

What is breaking?

Break dancing, professionally known as breaking, is rooted in 1970s street culture. Its debut at the 2024 Paris Games marked the first time any form of dancesport had been an Olympic event, though it was previously a part of the Olympics' Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

Athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics battled against each other one-on-one as a panel of judges rated their performances based on six different criteria: creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality.

"Athletes will use a combination of power moves — including windmills, the 6-step, and freezes — as they adapt their style and improvise to the beat of the DJ’s tracks in a bid to secure the judges’ votes and take home the first Olympic breaking medals," the Olympics' official website explained.

Related: Aussie Breakdancer Raygun Wins Over the Internet with 'Kangaroo' Moves at Paris Olympics

Who won the breaking gold medal at the 2024 Olympics?

Phil Wizard, whose real name is Philip Kim, took home the breaking gold medal for Team Canada at the 2024 Paris Olympics. France’s Dany Dann won silver and Team USA's Victor Montalvo won bronze.

Why won't breaking be in the 2028 Olympics?

The news that breaking wouldn't be included in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles was actually announced a few years ago. In 2022, the International Olympic Committee announced which 28 sports had been approved for the 2028 Games, where breaking was notably left off the list.

"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."

Related: Dr. Dre Wants to Compete on USA Archery Team at 2028 Olympics and 'Win the Gold Medal': 'I'm Dead-Ass Serious'

What sports are being added in the 2028 Olympics?

Just as breaking made its debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics, there are a slew of new sports being introduced at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

They include men's and women’s flag football and squash, according to Yahoo! Sports. While breaking won't be making its return to the 2028 Games, previously introduced sports — baseball, softball, lacrosse and cricket — will all return after years of absence.

Lacrosse hasn't been in the Olympics since 1908, while cricket hasn't been in the Olympics since Paris in 1900.

Will breaking return for the 2032 Olympics?

While breaking won't be in the 2028 Olympics, there's still a chance that the sport could make a comeback at the 2032 Brisbane Games! The World DanceSport Federation said it's "working hard to ensure" that breaking is included in the Summer Games in Australia.

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