Breaking makes Olympic debut in Paris

PARIS — Competition comes in many different forms. On the field, on the court, in water, on a track, and in the streets. The 2024 Paris Games is bringing worldwide hip-hop culture to sport’s biggest stage.

Breakdancing is American-made, born on the streets of New York City.

But these? These are the streets of Paris. And breaking is making history here this weekend.

“To see it represented at the Olympics, I feel like it’s a great opportunity to represent the street culture on the top of the world,” Parisian hip-hop dancer, Fabrice “Fabbreezy” Labrana,” said.

Labrana, a guy who perfected his craft here in Paris, now shares it with all who want to learn in France.

He teaches breaking and hip-hop locally with different schools and groups. And he has seen its growth at a rapid rate in his home city. Now, he gets to see the style make its Olympic debut this weekend, which just shows that it’s more than an American, or French, phenomenon.

“Hip-hop always travels around the globe,” Labrana said. “Asian people have got their own special style in the B-boying. France has got it, Russia has got it, Australia, Italy and Spain, and U.S. too, Brazil. I think everywhere, the B-boying and the breaking is going. You’ve got a new influence in the breaking.”

And all of these styles and evolving worldwide hip-hop cultures will come together for one historic weekend on the streets of Paris, at the Urban Park, in the Olympic Games.

And this may be the one and only time we see breaking. It will be replaced by flag football in the 2028 Games in Los Angelos.