Not long ago the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a statement in which it expressed that from the event to be held in the city of Paris in 2024 both Break Dance, surfing, climbing and skateboarding will be part of the sports that will offer gold, silver and bronze medals to the winners of these specialties, this as a measure to modernize this Olympic event every four years to include this type of competitions called "urban" that attract youth.
Since the IOC announced its intention to include these new sports proposals in the Olympic events, the controversy has not ceased to be present around the debates on this issue, evidently the entry of Break Dance among the sports to compete for medals to the detriment of more traditional (and popular) disciplines such as baseball/softball, skating, karate or scuash has not been very well taken by many athletes or leaders who are waiting for an opportunity for their discipline to have the same luck. IOC members justify their decision based on the great attention this activity caused at the Youth Games held in Buenos Aires in 2018, thus Break Dance is included in the Paris agenda as a way to attract the youth of the world (and the money that goes after them in the form of sponsors).
Detractors of Break Dance as an Olympic sport do not consider this discipline as a sport but rather as an artistic manifestation, unlike other more followed and equally important events that the IOC has refused to accommodate in the ecumenical meeting. Some go further and accuse the IOC of damaging the Olympic ideal by prioritizing the commercial side of the sport in its eagerness to seek popular and modern events.
It is a reality, times change and so do people's tastes. Today, a generation called "Millennials" (born between 1995 and 2010) is emerging as the replacements of the so-called "Baby Boomers" (generation born after World War II), who are retiring although they feel some resistance to give up power and make way for the new.
IOC members are former Olympic athletes, most of them specialists in non-traditional sports; in fact, IOC President Thomas Bach was a medal winner in fencing, one of the oldest (and most unpopular) disciplines in the Olympic line-up. These gentlemen are usually very reluctant to introduce novelties in these games, however, there is a reality that they cannot leave aside, Olympic events are very expensive and organizing them requires a lot of money, which sponsors are willing to contribute in exchange for pleasing their demands.
But in the eagerness to obtain the funds to organize these expensive events every four years, one's own beliefs give way to new ideas, those of the sponsors, even if they do not seem to be in line with the Olympic ideals. First the inclusion of professionals, then women's boxing, and now BMX and karate are making their debut, giving way to the controversial Break Dance at the event in the French capital.
Of course, there are non-Olympic sports that generate a lot of money and enjoy a certain popularity (baseball and cricket) but unfortunately they do not have the taste of the leaders of world sport, mostly European. On the other hand, given how expensive these games are due to the construction of stadiums and other works, they usually end up as big white elephants when the Olympic flame is extinguished, so these sports are generally avoided in order to save costs.
It may be that an event like Break Dance enjoys great popularity among today's youth, and that behind it there are a number of sponsors with a lot of economic power in addition to not requiring large venues for its development, however it seems unfair that older and organized sports still have to beg for inclusion. What would the current head of the IOC think if in 1976 they eliminated fencing to include the very popular disco dancing?
In my opinion, following this trend runs the risk of blurring the Olympic ideal in favor of fortune and popularity as well as cost savings, it is fine to opt for the inclusion of popular sports without leaving aside those that have been trying to earn that right for a long time. On the other hand, with so much need for money and sponsorship it is possible that companies end up hijacking the Olympics to impose events far from the human capacity to make efforts and achieve glory such as video games or robot fights, even, I am sure that soon they will give in and end up adding to that activity lacking in technique and excessive violence that they call mixed martial arts.
It is inevitable that the new generations will assume power in the future, their tastes will end up imposing themselves just as the baby boomers did with my generation. In the meantime, welcome Breakdancers to the meeting with the best athletes in the world.
