The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has given out official confirmation that the first Olympic Esports Games will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025. The decision was finalized in the 142 meeting of the IOC held in Paris on July 23 and 24.
The decision is the culmination of the 12-year-long delegation between the IOC and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia.
According to IOC President Thomas Bach, this is a new beginning to keep pace with the digital revolution. The partnership with the Esports Commission will provide a unique experience to the younger generation based on the Olympic Charter and Olympic Values.
IOC’s Engagement with Esports
The Olympic Esports Games to be held next year is a culmination of years of planning and deliberation orchestrated by the IOC. The talks and delegation were underway in 2018.
An Olympic Esports Week was organized in Singapore last year. The successful culmination of this event gave the organizers the necessary boost to go ahead with the first Olympic Esports Games. The mission officially started in October 2023 at the 141 meeting of the IOC held in Mumbai, India.
The IOC Esports Commission headed by David Lappartient was seminal in making a project report that combined the interests of the esports community with the value of the Olympic games.
Saudi Arabia’s Initiatives to Encourage Esports
Saudi Arabia has consistently contributed to Esports’s development and integration into the mainstream games scenario of the world.
The Saudi Arabian Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said in a statement that Esports has a promising future in the country.
The nation is committed to attracting the younger generation to sports and esports is a reflection of the gaming scenario that the present young generation is living in. According to the Prince, this is a chance to kindle new dreams and ambitions in millions of young athletes worldwide.
The decision of Saudi Arabia to host the first Olympic Esports Games in 2025 is part of Vision 2030, which was launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016.
The country has almost 23.5 million sports persons of which half are women. This is a golden opportunity for the country to promote gender equality through sports.
Saudi Arabia has already hosted the first Esports World Cup, which saw about 1700 players competing in the event.
The country has also proved its mettle by organizing events to attract as many as 4 million people to view the games and support tier favorite players.
Saudi Arabia has 67% percent of its native population engaging in esports activity and many pro gamers.
Saudi Arabia’s Renewed Interest in Sports
These developments can be viewed as part of the larger turn of events where Saudi Arabia has revised its policies to give more importance to sports. It is evident from the various international sports events in the fields of esports, football, motorsports, tennis, equestrian, and golf, that the country has hosted in the last few years.
Over the last few years, the number of participants in sports events has tripled in the country; almost 50% of the total population is engaged in one sport or the other. The number of sports federations in the country has also increased from 32 to 98 over the past decade.
Another statistic of interest is the increased participation of women in sports. The new laws in the country are highly encouraging for women to join the mainstream society and this has increased the participation of women in sports.
At present, there are about 3,30,000 women athletes officially registered in the country. More than that, women are now included in various decision-making bodies concerning sports.
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Further Activities
Now that it is decided that Saudi Arabia will host the first Olympic Esports Games, preparations are underway to select the venues to conduct the events, select the dates for the events, decide on the items to be included, and formulate rules to decide the eligibility criteria for gamers.
The IOC will adopt a tailor-made financial model to fund this event and will seek the partnership of sports federations that have already adopted esports into their schedules.
