Australia’s Jeffrey Dan Arpie Dunne, known as B-Boy J Attack competes during the B-Boys round robin battle for the breaking competition at La Concorde Urban Park at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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Amid breaking’s uncertain future as an Olympic sport, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) and DanceSport Australia have been putting effort towards the long game, establishing the infrastructure needed to ensure that the sport is alive and well when the time comes to decide the disciplines for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
Earlier in November, the organizations officially announced the inaugural Brisbane World Breaking DanceSport Festival, set to take place at Brisbane City Hall from January 17-18, 2026.
This event marks a significant strategic pivot for the region. Rather than a one-off that only pays lip service to supporting breaking in Oceania, the festival is designed to be an annual fixture, a “major step forward” according to the WDSF, intended to cultivate a consistent high-performance environment six years out from the 2032 Games in the same area.
A Pathway To Dakar 2026
The the Brisbane festival also comes at an appropriate time and is connected to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, taking place October 31 to November 13, 2026. With breaking absent from Los Angeles 2028, Dakar 2026 is breaking’s primary presence in the Olympic movement, for now at least.
The Brisbane event will feature WDSF Breaking for Gold World Series categories, but crucially, it includes specific divisions for Youth B-Boys and B-Girls. These competitions, as far as the WDSF rules state, count towards the participation requirement in order to qualify for Dakar 2026, similar to the Youth division of the 2025 World Championships in Porto. This focus on the youth cohort suggests an allocation of resources toward the next generation of breakers who may even take a shot at Brisbane 2032 if breaking makes it in.
Developing The Australian Infrastructure
Hosting the Brisbane breaking festival could be aimed at assuaging doubts about breaking’s presence in Australia, both in terms of simple presence and level of talent. WDSF President Shawn Tay called the event the “First step in preparing the next generation of breakers for the global stage, and in connecting Australia to the Olympic vision that awaits in 2032.”
By bringing a marquee event to Brisbane City Hall, the WDSF is inviting the top breakers in the world to put their skills to the test in an area that doesn’t often see that level of competition. It encourages Australian breakers to engage with the WDSF , hopefully bridging the gap between the grassroots local scene and the scale and structure of a formal worldwide organization.
The Business of the Artform
Although the goal isn’t necessarily commercial success, the Brisbane World Breaking DanceSport Festival will test breaking’s viability and staying power as a sport. The WDSF aims to balance the “artistry, history, and diversity of Breaking”—elements that are essential to maintaining credibility with the community—while continuing to push it towards the goal of inclusion in the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
If it’s successful, the festival will be a clear signal that despite the hurdles of 2024, breaking deserves a place in that Olympic roster. Starting in 2026, the six-year runway will start taking off, with WDSF and national federations doing their best to nurture talent and show the world that sport breaking isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.