IOC INAUGURATES OLYMPIC ESPORTS GAMES, FIRST EVENT IN 2025

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made a groundbreaking move by establishing the Olympic Esports Games, with the first edition scheduled for 2025.

Unveiled at the 142nd IOC Ses­sion in Paris, this deci­sion marks a sig­nif­i­cant leap into the dig­i­tal age, align­ing with the evolv­ing inter­ests of a younger audi­ence.

IOC Pres­i­dent Thomas Bach cel­e­brat­ed this ini­tia­tive as a new era for the Olympics, high­light­ing the enthu­si­as­tic sup­port from the glob­al esports com­mu­ni­ty. The Games will be orga­nized in col­lab­o­ra­tion with the Nation­al Olympic Com­mit­tee (NOC) of Sau­di Ara­bia for the next 12 years, lever­ag­ing the King­dom’s exten­sive expe­ri­ence and com­mit­ment to esports.

The IOC’s engage­ment with esports began in 2018, cul­mi­nat­ing in the suc­cess­ful Olympic Esports Week in Sin­ga­pore in 2023. This event led to the for­ma­tion of the IOC Esports Com­mis­sion, which devel­oped a project that respects Olympic val­ues, pro­motes gen­der equal­i­ty, and engages with youth.

HRH Prince Abdu­laz­iz bin Tur­ki Al Faisal, Sau­di Ara­bi­a’s Min­is­ter of Sport, praised the ini­tia­tive, cit­ing the trans­for­ma­tive Vision 2030 intro­duced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This vision has posi­tioned Sau­di Ara­bia as a leader in the esports indus­try, with over 23.5 mil­lion gamers. The King­dom’s com­mit­ment to sports reflects the dynam­ic inter­ests of its young pop­u­la­tion.

HRH Princess Reema Ban­dar Al-Saud high­light­ed the soci­etal changes dri­ven by Vision 2030, which have empow­ered women and youth, lead­ing to increased par­tic­i­pa­tion in sports, includ­ing esports. Sau­di Ara­bi­a’s host­ing of numer­ous inter­na­tion­al esports tour­na­ments has rein­forced its rep­u­ta­tion as a glob­al esports hub.

The IOC will estab­lish a ded­i­cat­ed struc­ture for orga­niz­ing the Olympic Esports Games, dis­tinct from the tra­di­tion­al Olympics, ensur­ing effec­tive man­age­ment and financ­ing. This ini­tia­tive promis­es to fos­ter col­lab­o­ra­tion with inter­na­tion­al fed­er­a­tions and nation­al Olympic com­mit­tees, herald­ing a dynam­ic future for the Olympic Esports Games and the broad­er Olympic move­ment.