Saudi Arabia has been revealed as the host of the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in 2025 under a multi-edition deal.
The first staging will be held next year under plans announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The duration of the partnership between the IOC and the Saudi National Olympic Committee (NOC) will be 12 years, with Olympic Esports Games held regularly.
The proposal will voted upon by the IOC Session, which will be held on the eve of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 later this month.
The Olympic Esports Games decision was announced by the IOC following the conclusion of a review carried out by the IOC Esports Commission. Last year, the commission was asked to study the creation of an Olympic Esports Games following the success of initiatives such as Olympic Esports Week.
Should the plan be approved by the IOC Session, work will begin on selecting a city and venue for the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games. Organisers must also decide the specific timing of the event, the titles to be included, the qualification process for the players and further details.
“We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi NOC on the Olympic Esports Games, because it has great – if not unique – expertise in the field of esports with all its stakeholders. The Olympic Esports Games will greatly benefit from this experience,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.
“By partnering with the Saudi NOC we have also ensured that the Olympic values are respected, in particular, with regard to the game titles on the programme, the promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports.”
Why Saudi Arabia was selected
The partnership comes at a time of significant growth of sport overall in Saudi Arabia, and is driven by the country’s social and economic transformation under Vision 2030. Since 2018, Saudi Arabia has been entrusted with delivering some of the biggest global sports events, staging over 100 international events for both male and female athletes, including esports, football, motorsports, tennis, equestrian and golf, attracting over 2.6 million sports fans.
As many as 67% of the Saudi population consider themselves to be gamers, with an ever-increasing number, currently 100, of pro esports players pursuing full-time careers.
Saudi Arabia is currently hosting the Esports World Cup, which is run by the Esports World Cup Foundation. The event features 22 events in 21 different video game titles. It has the largest combined prize pool in esports history at over $60m.
The IOC has already emphasised that International Federations already engaged in an e-version of their sport that is considered for inclusion in the Olympic Esports Games will be the IOC’s first go-to partners. It added that the same will be true for National Olympic Committees that already include esports in their activities.
Share this