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Bringing breaking to the world stage

Bringing breaking to the world stage

Breaking debuts as an Olympic sport in Paris

Sporting Witness · BBC World Service

August 3, 20249m 3s

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Show Notes

Breaking makes its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but its origins as a sport go back to 1970s New York.

Michael Holman formed a group of the most talented breakdancers in the city called 'The New York City Breakers'.

He remembers when the crew performed at a salute for the US Olympic team in 1984, where they wrote a proclamation backstage - proposing it should be a future event at the games, with a set of rules to go with it.

This is a Whistledown production for the BBC World Service.

(Photo: Breakdancers in 1984 in New York, Brooklyn. Credit: Getty Images)