Paris Olympics: Hong Kong bidding to host 2 breaking qualifiers, targets spots at 2024 Games
- Hong Kong’s athletes will have chance to battle it out for place at Games if city can host Olympic Qualifier Series event
- ‘We hope to create a favourable environment and a home advantage for Hong Kong breakers,’ says B-Boy Fishball
Hong Kong is bidding to host two Olympic qualifiers as part of a two-pronged strategy to secure a spot for the city’s breakdancers at the Paris Games in 2024.
If successful, a Breaking for Gold World Series event would be held at Queen Elizabeth Stadium at the end of next year, and an Olympic Qualifier Series competition between March and June in 2024.
A competition in December 2023 has already been pencilled in for Hong Kong on the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) calendar, and organisers in the city hope to finalise all the details next month.
“Our original plan was to host the BfG on December 9 and 10, but the stadium can only accommodate an event on the 15 and 16 or Christmas Eve weekend,” a source said.
“WDSF has already said no one will compete on Christmas, so we are now awaiting official confirmation of the competition dates from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.”
The Gold World Series event would count as one of the Paris Olympics ranking tours, and would be expected to attract around 450 athletes, and cost around HK$3 million for the two days.
Breaking makes its Olympic debut in 2024 in Paris, with only 16 men and 16 women competing at the Games. Ten of those spots will come from the qualifying series, five from regional championships, including the Asian Games, and one from the WDSF World Championships.
