Breaking
Breaking
A brief history of Red Bull BC One
Get up to speed with one of the world's biggest breaking competitions
Red Bull BC One, the world's premier breaking competition returns in 2021. B-boys and b-girls will have to first dominate regional cyphers, and then win the national final in order to claim their spot in the World Finals. For those unfamiliar with the Red Bull BC One, here's a rapid-fire history of one of the breaking world's biggest events.
How it all began
After emerging from NYC in the late-1970s b-boying and hip-hop culture spread around the world like wildfire. Breaking crews could be found everywhere, from Europe and Africa to Australia and Asia, and most major competitions saw these crews doing battle. But in 2004, the first-ever Red Bull BC One did something different. Taking place in Biel, Switzerland, it became the only major international championship to feature individual b-boys. The inaugural world champion was US breaker Omar.
2 min
A brief history of Red Bull BC One
Watch how it all began as we look at Red Bull BC One's history.
How it works
Until the 2016 Red Bull BC One World Finals, the 16 finalists were drawn from regional heats in North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Now world finalists are drawn from special Red Bull BC One camps held in several locations around the world. The world final is a knockout tournament in which b-boys dance in front of a five-strong panel of judges who look for exceptional skills and good character.
Globe hopping
Including that first world final in 2004, there have been 13 Red Bull BC One World Finals. After Biel, Switzerland it landed in Berlin, Germany (2005), São Paulo, Brazil (2006), Johannesburg, South Africa (2007), Paris, France (2008 and 2014), New York City, USA (2009), Tokyo, Japan (2010), Moscow, Russia (2011), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2012), Seoul, South Korea (2013), Rome, Italy (2015) and Nagoya, Japan (2016). That’s 12 different cities in nine different countries. The 2017 edition, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, will increase both of those numbers by one.
The champions
Red Bull BC One has crowned 15 different b-boy world champions and 2 b-girl world champions. The youngest b-boy, at 19 years old, is Issei (above) from Japan, who won the 2016 world final in Nagoya, Japan. He’s the first winner from that country. The US has four champions – Omar (2004), Ronnie (2007), Roxrite (2011) and Victor (2015). South Korea has two champions – Wing and Hong 10. Of the 3 b-girl world finals held since 2018, Kastet has won the last two.
To the victor, the spoils
Lilou and Hong10 are the only b-boys who've won the Red Bull BC One World Final twice, while that honour also goes to b-girl Kastet. Lilou won in 2005 and 2009 – first for France and then for Algeria – while South Korea's Hong 10 won in 2006 and 2013. Hong 10 also holds the record for most individual battle wins, with 16 victories. They’ve since both gone on to achieve success outside of Red Bull BC One, performing in TV adverts and video games. Lilou features in the video for The Chemical Brothers’ Midnight Madness, he's toured as a dancer with Madonna, and appeared in the film Streetdance 2. Lilou and Hong 10 are also members of b-boy ambassadors the Red Bull BC One All Stars alongside Issei, Cico, Lil G, Menno, Neguin, Pelézinho, Ronnie, Roxrite, Taisuke, Victor and Wing.
Breaking to the beat
There's no breaking without music and every year the Red Bull BC One World Final features top DJs such as DJ Renegade and DJ DP One, as well as lyrical masters like the one and only KRS ONE, Rahzel from The Roots and Rakaa Iriscience (Dilated Peoples) on the mic. Listen out for some stellar hip-hop DJing and emceeing at this year's final, too.
This year, Red Bull BC One is set to find the country’s top B-boy and B-girl with four qualifying cyphers taking place across the country this February and March culminating in the national final taking place in Cape Town on 24 April 2021. Click here for more info.
