Olympics-'Festival-style' qualifiers aim to showcase newest sports

(Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday announced a Paris 2024 qualifier series for BMX freestyle, breaking, skateboarding and sport climbing held in three "festival-style events" to boost awareness of the sports.

The IOC said the events would take place in "compact city-centre venues" between March and June 2024.

"We expect to boost their visibility and highlight the great achievements of the competing athletes on the road to Paris 2024," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.

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The IOC said the three events would serve as a part of the sports' 2024 Olympics qualification systems.

Breaking -- known to some outside the sport as breakdancing -- cleared its final hurdle to feature in the Paris 2024 Games in December 2020. BMX freestyle, sport climbing and skateboarding made their Olympic debuts in Tokyo last year.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; editing by Clare Fallon)