The big new sport of the 2024 Summer Olympics is breaking, or break-dancing, and it's currently underway as one of the last Olympic events with the first half taking place on Friday, August 9.
US: Peacock | NBC
UK: iPlayer | BBC (free with license fee) | Discovery Plus
AU: Stan Sports | 9Now (free)
Watch abroad with a VPN
Olympic breaking sees 16 break-dancers engage in a series of one-on-one solo dance-offs as they improvise to music from a DJ. Judges will vote on the better dancers, with the winners progressing through various rounds on the same day.
Breaking is the last new sport to begin at the 2024 Olympics, starting just two days prior to the closing ceremony, and so it could be the event that helps push a country to the top of the medal table. Frontrunners China, United States and France all have at least three competitors (four is the maximum) so they'll be joining the sport in force.
So whether you're a break-dancing fan who wants to see the art form join the world stage, or you're just curious about the event, here's how to watch the Olympic breaking online or on TV.
How to watch Olympic breaking in the US
The best way to watch the 2024 Olympic breaking in the US is on Peacock, which is hosting live streams of every Olympic event including the break-dancing.
Peacock is also set to offer loads of features so Olympic fans can watch as much as possible: Live Actions will let you set prompts to jump to new activites that are starting or jump to an overview, Discovery Multiview will let you stream four sports at the same time and you can also create a viewing schedule, search by sport or athlete and keep up to date with all the medals and awards that have been issued.
Each month, Peacock costs $5.99 for its ad-enabled tier, and you can drop ads for $11.99 monthly. An annual plan costs the same as 10 months, so $59.99 for ad-enabled and $119.99 for ad-free. This is after a price change in August 2023 so it's unlikely the price will go up again before the games.
Some of NBC's TV channels have been showing Olympic sports but they've been jumping between various events, so if you want to watch the entire break-dancing championship, Peacock is the way to go.
How to watch Olympic breaking in the UK
The best way to watch the Olympic breaking in the UK is via Discovery Plus. The streaming service has been hosting live streams of every Olympic sport and that won't change for the break-dancing.
Discovery Plus normally costs £6.99 per month for its Standard tier (that's the one you need) but if you sign up before Sunday, August 11, you can get it for £3.99 per month until the end of the year.
Some Olympic sports are being shown free by the BBC: it's showing sports via BBC One and BBC Two and also has a live stream online on iPlayer. However these live streams will jump between various sports instead of sticking on one,
How to watch Olympic breaking in Australia
You'll want to watch the Olympic breaking competition online in Australia by relying on the free streaming service 9Now, which is accessible on most modern smart devices like your phone, tablet, TV or computer.
9Now has been hosting live streams of each Olympic sport including the Olympic break-dancing, so it should be the first port of call for fans of sports or anyone who wants to watch the events.
The TV channel Nine will also show some some Olympic coverage and highlights, but you'll have to use 9Now for a reliable stream of a specific sport like breaking.
How to watch Olympic breakingeverywhere else
If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch Olympic breaking, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite sports, shows or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at NordVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
Olympic breaking schedule
The women's breaking competition will take place on Friday, August 9, while the men's one will take place a day later.
All times are in Paris' local time. That's 9 hours ahead of ET, 6 hours ahead of PT, one hour ahead of the UK and eight hours behind AEST.
Friday, August 9: B-Girls
- 9 am: pre-qualifier battle
- 9 am: round robin
- 1 pm: quarter-finals
- 1:45 pm: semi-finals
- 2:15 pm: finals
Saturday, August 10
- 9 am: pre-qualifier battle
- 9 am: round robin
- 1 pm: quarter-finals
- 1:45 pm: semi-finals
- 2:15 pm: finals
All you need to know about the Olympic breaking
When does the Olympic breaking begin?
The Olympic breaking begins on Friday, August 9, and finishes one day later. The first battles begin at 3 am ET/midnight PT (the day before)/8 am UK/6 pm AEST.
Which events make up the Olympic breaking?
There are only two Olympic breaking events: one for B-Boys (the men's round) and one for B-Girls (the women's round).
Where does the Olympic breaking tournament take place
The Olympic breaking battles will take place at Paris' La Concorde.
This forum in the city center has been transformed into a hub for the Olympics, with loads of different events taking place around the area. The Olympic 3X3 Basketball, BMX Freestyle and Skateboarding events also take place there.
How to watch other Olympic sports
If you want specific information on other Olympic sports, here are guides we have to the other activities which will be shown as part of the Paris Olympic games:
