Not because I didn't think that they would be a success, but because I thought that the distinct identities of these disciplines would be sacrificed.

Skateboarding, for example, has been casually nonconformist since its beginnings while the Games are about as "establishment" as it gets.

The COVID-19-enforced lack of fans in Japan meant that we could not get a real sense of the sport's Olympic debut.

Almost as if it was a trial run, we will see for certain next year at Paris 2024 whether the Games sucks the spirit out of skateboarding and co. or if it truly embraces the culture.

If the latter, it could represent a major shift in the Games' identity that undoubtedly would make it more appealing to the younger generation.

Coming to FISE Montpellier has changed my opinion that the formalisation of urban sports is possible while keeping the street feel intact.

The festival began in 1997 attracting 25,000 people and has since grown to 600,000 this year in the French city.

Hurricane, the event's organiser, is aware of the danger of these sports losing their "DNA" and have made it a priority in their talks with governing bodies to counter this.

The introduction of the Urban Sports Summit in 2019 has helped Hurricane to convey this to these bodies. 

"There is a risk but since the beginning we as urban sports activists, we really try to avoid this," Hurricane international development director Olivier Pascal told insidethegames.

"How?

"By working with the International Federations and expressing the importance of keeping the DNA and the value of urban sports.

"The Urban Sports Summit is really made to gather the traditional sports institutions and the urban sport communities and so far it is going well.

"We can only see positive change like anti-doping, increased media attention, and bigger budgets from governing bodies towards the teams so the athletes benefits.

"If the athletes want to remain by themselves riding in the street they can still do it so for me there have only been good changes.

Breaking features at FISE Montpellier and is also due to make its Olympic debut next year which was somewhat of a shock as it is very much still an underground discipline.

Seeing it in person was an eye-opening experience.

It generated a sensational atmosphere on the banks of the River Lez where the festival is taking place.

It was clearly contagious among the crowd and left people dancing on their way out once Canadian Phil Wizard and China's 671 had sealed victory.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will also be encouraged by the clear impact it had on children who were emulating all sorts of moves demonstrated by the world's best on stage.

However, when I got back I went to watch the broadcast of the final and thought I was looking at a completely different event.

The cameras simply could not capture the action as it appeared live.

It is expected that an in-person will always trump television coverage but this fell completely flat.

The hype in the crowds appeared non-existent and the commentators were unable to articulate what was happening on the stage.

With a sport as new to most people as breaking is, it is imperative for the audience to be educated so they can be introduced to the sport in a way that they understand why one athlete scores higher than the other.

"The video capture is key but the television and watching live will always be different," Pascal said.

"There is a lot of innovation that is coming to our sports like sport presentation and we are working on many new embedding technologies to the field of play.

"This is in order to give the TV viewer this experience to have a better understanding of our sports but of course nothing will replace an on-site presence."

One positive of the Olympic Games' exposure is how it is changing perceptions on urban sports.

Many athletes of these disciplines have experienced prejudice due to long-held negative perceptions.

A study from the University of Southern California found that skateboarders especially were prone to being labelled as rebels, social deviants or rulebreakers.

However, the spotlight from international events is helping to change that. 

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra praised FISE Montpellier for combatting these misconceptions.

She cited a 2022 study from Sport Dans le Ville that found "formidable" results on the impact of FISE.

It stated that it caused four out of five people to have a good image of urban sports while 72 per cent said that these sports gave their city a good image.

The IOC wants urban sports to inspire an interest in the Games among young people and judging by FISE's inter-generational success it is certainly on the right track.

Statista shows that 54 per cent of people worldwide were not interested in the Olympics in 2021.

If the IOC can capture the urban sports spirit demonstrated in Montpellier then it could be onto a winner in halting the trend of dwindling popularity.