Breaking The Walls reaches Porto for its final chapter at The World Battle

Final showcase at The World Battle

Max Oliveira, founder of The World Battle

Press conference announcing Breaking The Walls' timeline

From Alba and L’Aquila to Banská Bystrica and now Porto: the project culminates by bringing breaking and mental health to one of EU’s largest urban festivals

PORTO, PORTUGAL, August 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- After travelling across Europe throughout 2026, Breaking The Walls is arriving in Porto for the final major chapter of its programme. From 24 to 30 August, the Portuguese city will host The World Battle, one of the largest international festivals dedicated to urban sports and culture, bringing together athletes, dancers, artists and audiences from around the world.

For Breaking The Walls, Porto represents more than another stop on the calendar. It is the culmination of a two-year-long European journey that has taken the project through different communities, countries and cultural environments, using breaking as a way to explore mental well-being, personal development and connection among young people. The project, supported by the European Union, began its 2026 journey with Albattle in Italy, before continuing to Check The Style in L’Aquila and Outbreak Europe in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. Each event has provided a different environment in which young participants could experience breaking not only as a physical and artistic discipline, but also as a tool for confidence, self-expression and resilience.

The final stage now takes place in Porto, in partnership with MXM Art Center and The World Battle. Two dedicated workshops will be held as part of the project: one led by Polish breaker Kleju on Thursday, 27 August, followed by a session with French B-Girl San Andrea on Friday, 28 August. The journey will culminate on Saturday, 29 August, when the young people involved in the project will take part in a final showcase at the festival’s main venue.

"The European project Breaking the Walls, coordinated from Italy, represents an inspiring example of how urban culture and breaking can serve as powerful tools for social transformation, inclusion, and personal development,” says Max Oliveira, founder of MXM Art Center and director of The World Battle. “In partnership with MXM and connected to World Battle and other internationally recognized events, the project aims to break down cultural, social, and geographical barriers, creating opportunities for young people to develop skills, strengthen their employability, build a vision for their future, and experience the richness of multiculturalism through the exchange of experiences with participants from different countries."

The choice of Porto as the final destination also reflects the international dimension that has characterised the project from the beginning. Participants have had the opportunity to encounter different breaking communities and cultures, while developing relationships that extend beyond the individual workshops and events.

"The fact that the culmination of the project will take place in Portugal, as part of World Battle, further reinforces the international recognition of the country, the city of Porto, and the event itself as leading platforms for the promotion of culture, innovation, and European cooperation," adds Oliveira.
The World Battle, taking place from 24 to 30 August, turns Porto into a large-scale celebration of contemporary urban culture. Alongside breaking, the programme brings together skateboarding, surfing, rope jumping, strongman and other urban sports, complemented by concerts, freestyle rap, exhibitions, workshops and talks.

"Breaking The Walls was born from a simple idea: that breaking can be much more than a dance. It can become a space where young people learn to understand themselves, challenge their limits and connect with others," says Enrico Signa, founder of Breaking The Walls. "Over the past two years, we have seen this idea develop across different countries and communities. From Alba to L’Aquila, from Banská Bystrica to Porto, every event has added a different piece to the project."

The idea behind the project is to provide Gen Z with the competencies and spaces to develop mental resilience and psychological capacities, at a time when young people seem to be increasingly connected online, while becoming more disconnected offline and, in some cases, struggling to relate positively to one another. At the same time, the project fosters their athletic skills in breaking through a practice increasingly recognised in psychological research: Dance Movement Therapy, which uses movement to support psychological well-being. This took the form of workshops and activities organised across the three host countries, combining the work of breaking trainers with that of mental health professionals and Dance Movement Therapists. While travelling to these sessions, participants could also experience the benefits of cultural discovery and international connections, visiting places they had never encountered before.

With the aim of reaching an audience of over 500’000 young people, from Italy to Portugal and Slovakia, Breaking The Walls has sought to demonstrate that the walls young people encounter, whether cultural, social, geographical or personal, can be challenged through movement, creativity and human connection.

The full Breaking The Walls timeline and applications for selected sessions are available at breakingthewalls.eu and on Instagram @breakingthewalls.eu.

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