Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) attends a news conference after an Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
March 27, 2019
By Karolos Grohmann
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Breakdancing was among four sports given a provisional green light for inclusion in the Paris 2024 Games by the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday, IOC President Thomas Bach said.
The Paris 2024 organizing committee in February proposed surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing as well as breakdancing for inclusion in the Games.
“We decided to recommend the four sports (for ratification) to the IOC session in June in Lausanne,” Bach told a news conference. “It is a provisional inclusion because the final decision should only be taken at the end of 2020.”
Surfing, climbing and skateboarding will be part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and their performance as new sports there will be key for their final inclusion in Paris.
“There will be a meeting in November 2020 and a board meeting in December where the final decision should be taken. In the meantime there is a monitoring program… to see how they perform, to look at governance, integrity of competitions, refereeing and judging system,” Bach said.
The Paris Games organizers have said they want to deliver a program that will be “in keeping with the times and inspire new audiences and attract young people … and which can be played anywhere and anytime in urban and other environments.”
Under new IOC rules first introduced for the Tokyo Games, Olympic host cities can hand-pick sports and propose them for inclusion in those Games if they are popular in that country and add to the Games’ appeal.
The IOC is eager to refresh the Games’ sports program to remain relevant to sponsors, broadcasters and fans.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Toby Davis)
