Breakdancing debuted at Paris 2024. Cricket returns at Los Angeles 2028. Behind every addition to the Olympic programme lies a years-long political and technical process run by the International Olympic Committee, involving evaluations, lobbying and votes. This is how sports get into the Olympics, why some are dropped, and what the future programme might look like.

Who decides the Olympic programme?

The IOC Session, the committee’s full membership of around one hundred members, holds the ultimate vote, but the real work happens earlier. The Olympic Programme Commission evaluates sports against dozens of criteria and recommends additions and removals. The IOC Executive Board shapes the proposals, and host cities now play a major role: since the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, each host can propose new sports for its edition, subject to IOC approval. This host-proposal system brought skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing and breakdancing to recent Games, and it is the mechanism returning cricket, baseball-softball, lacrosse, squash and flag football at Los Angeles 2028.

What criteria must a sport meet?

The evaluation is exhaustive. A sport must be governed by a recognised international federation with global reach, anti-doping compliance and good governance. It needs genuine universality: practised widely across continents by both men and women, not concentrated in a few nations. It must add value to the Games: youth appeal, television attractiveness, gender equality and cost-effectiveness all count. Operational factors matter enormously: sports requiring expensive new venues face scepticism, while those using existing facilities have an edge. The federation must demonstrate integrity, including judging systems resistant to corruption. Meeting every criterion is necessary but not sufficient; politics decides among the qualified.

How does the host city proposal system work?

Olympic Agenda 2020 transformed the process by letting hosts suggest sports that resonate locally. Tokyo 2020 proposed baseball-softball, karate, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing. Paris 2024 kept skateboarding, surfing and climbing while adding breakdancing, reflecting French urban culture. Los Angeles 2028 proposed cricket, capitalising on the sport’s American growth and the South Asian diaspora, alongside baseball-softball, lacrosse, squash and flag football. Host proposals are limited in athlete numbers and must fit the overall quota of around 10,500 athletes, so adding sports means tight arithmetic elsewhere. The system makes each Games feel distinctive while keeping the core programme stable.

Why are sports removed from the Olympics?

Removal is rarer but real. Wrestling was controversially dropped from the core programme in 2013 before being reinstated after global outcry and reform. Baseball and softball were voted out after 2008 amid disputes over the best players’ availability and were later restored for specific editions. Karate, added for Tokyo, did not survive to Paris. Sports face removal for declining global relevance, governance scandals, judging controversies, high costs or failure to attract youth audiences. The modern pentathlon survived a removal threat by replacing horse riding with obstacle racing. Every sport in the Games effectively re-auditions for its place each cycle.

What is cricket’s Olympic journey?

Cricket’s Olympic history is a curiosity: it appeared once, at Paris 1900, when Britain beat France in the only match. For over a century, scheduling conflicts, the sport’s length and governance politics kept it out. The T20 format changed the equation: short, television-friendly and global. The ICC’s sustained lobbying, the sport’s billion-plus fanbase and Los Angeles’s large South Asian community made the case irresistible. Cricket returns at LA 2028 in T20 format, and its inclusion is expected to shatter Olympic viewership records in South Asia. Whether it becomes a permanent Olympic sport will depend on its LA reception and the preferences of future hosts.

Which sports are campaigning for the future?

The queue is long. Squash finally succeeded for LA 2028 after decades of lobbying. Kabaddi’s supporters cite its Asian Games record and television appeal. Esports looms as the great question: the IOC has embraced Olympic Esports Weeks while keeping competitive gaming separate from the Games themselves. Netball, ultimate frisbee and orienteering all maintain campaigns. The emerging pattern favours sports that are urban, youthful, gender-balanced and cheap to stage. The Olympic programme of 2032 and beyond will look different from today’s, and the lobbying has already begun.

FAQs

Which new sports are at Los Angeles 2028? Cricket, baseball-softball, lacrosse, squash and flag football join the LA 2028 programme.

Can host cities choose Olympic sports? Hosts can propose additional sports for their edition, subject to IOC approval and overall athlete quotas.

Why was breakdancing only at Paris 2024? It was a host-proposed sport for Paris reflecting French urban culture, and was not retained for Los Angeles 2028.

The Olympic programme is a living document, balancing tradition with renewal. Every addition tells a story about where sport is heading; every removal marks where it has been.

Source: International Olympic Committee programme commission reports