Inaugural Olympic Esports Games to be held in 2027 in Saudi Arabia
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The IOC has been looking into e-sports for several years, forming a dedicated commission to find opportunities to tap into a younger generation involved with gaming.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN – The first Olympic Esports Games will be held in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Feb 11, as part of a 12-year-deal which the country signed in 2024.
The IOC has been looking into e-sports for several years, forming a dedicated commission to find opportunities to tap into a younger generation involved with gaming.
With its traditional audience base gradually ageing, the governing body is trying to connect with a younger generation of potential Olympics fans.
In 2021, it developed the Olympic Virtual Series, a pilot venture in e-sports, before signing the deal with Saudi Arabia in 2024 to host the Olympic Esports Games.
“There is now a very clear road map to the historic first-ever Olympic Esports Games,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement.
“With the road to the Olympic Esports Games starting this year, the Games are becoming a reality.”
A six-member committee chaired by Singapore’s Ng Ser Miang has been set up to define which games will be part of the maiden Esports Olympics.
Saudi Arabia has invested billions in sports events, including football, Formula One, boxing and golf, with critics accusing the country of engaging in “sportswashing” over its human rights record.
The kingdom, which will also host the 2034 football World Cup, has denied accusations of human rights abuses and insisted that its investments into sports are genuinely for economic reasons.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, said: “Today the journey to the first-ever Olympic Esports Games is clear, with an immediate timeline that works for all parties and sees the road to Olympic Esports Games start in 2025.
“Together with the IOC there is real momentum, unity and clarity on the way forward, with the focus now on delivering.
“Already Saudi Arabia is looking forward to welcoming the world and playing its part to help the dreams of so many e-sports athletes come true... there is real growth and new opportunities to grasp as part of an exciting future for all.”
Bach had previously noted that there are three billion people playing e-sports and gaming around the world – that number could have increased substantially by now.
“In 2021, the IOC developed the Olympic Virtual Series. Building on the learnings, we then launched the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore,” he said.
“In Singapore, we saw proof that our holistic approach is working. We successfully brought together the Olympic and the e-sports communities.”
Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre hosted the Olympic Esports Week in June 2023.
The event featured a variety of virtual sports – both hybrid physical and sports simulations – and attendees had an opportunity to participate in exhibitions of the latest technologies, panel discussions, education sessions and show matches. REUTERS
