Thomas Bach emphasised the importance of urban sports for the future of the Olympics as he kicked off the second stop of the Olympic Qualifying Series yesterday in Budapest. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president has been impressed with the inaugural series of the OQS so far, with the Olympic trials which determine which athletes will compete in the Paris 2024 attracting thousands of spectators to watch over 450 athletes from more than 120 National Federations compete in breaking, BMX freestyle, skateboarding and sport climbing in a festival-like event fusing sport, art, music and culture in a festival atmosphere.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach hailed the inaugural Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) a benchmark for future Olympic Qualifiers as he made his closing remarks on the last day of the event, which ran from 16-19 May.

Friday at the first-ever Olympic Qualifier Series in Shanghai was packed with preliminaries ahead of a weekend of finals, with skateboarding packing the stands with young spectators. 

Breaking makes its Olympic debut this summer with two upcoming final qualifiers being held in Shanghai and Budapest. South Africa's Courtnae Paul is one of seven B-girls and B-boys from Africa hoping to earn a spot at Paris 2024.

January 2024 begins with a flurry of sporting activity in the run-up to Paris 2024. The thirty-third Olympic Games of the modern era, with more than 10,000 athletes, will begin in the Paris region on 26 July.