The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced Saudi Arabia as the proposed host for the first-ever Olympic Esports Games in 2025. IOC President Thomas Bach emphasized that the partnership aims to leverage Saudi Arabia’s expertise in organizing esports tournaments.
“We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi National Olympic Committee 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 Bach.
Currently, Saudi Arabia is hosting the inaugural Esports World Cup, which features 22 events across 21 different video game titles, replacing the Gamers8 tournament that ran for two editions.
The partnership between the IOC and the Saudi National Olympic Committee (NOC) will span 12 years. The proposal will be formally presented at the IOC Session just before the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, set to begin on 26 July.
This announcement is anticipated to draw criticism from human rights organizations, which accuse Saudi Arabia of using investments in sports and entertainment to distract from its human rights record. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has previously dismissed these allegations of “sportswashing,” asserting that the country’s investment in sports is part of its Vision 2030 strategy to diversify its economy away from oil dependence.
Bach addressed these concerns, stating that the IOC had obtained assurances from Saudi Arabia that the games would uphold Olympic values, which emphasize non-discrimination in sports.
“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,” said Bach.
The IOC has been engaging with the esports sector since 2018 and announced its plans for an Esports Olympics last month. In June 2023, the IOC conducted a pilot Olympic Esports Week event in Singapore, featuring 130 players competing in 10 mixed-gender category events. The games included Tic Tac Bow (archery), WBSC eBASEBALL™: POWER PROS (baseball), Chess.com (chess), Zwift (cycling), Just Dance (dance), Gran Turismo (motorsport), Virtual Regatta (sailing), Fortnite (shooting), Virtual Taekwondo (taekwondo), and Tennis Clash (tennis).
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