The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the inaugural Olympic Esports Games will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2025.
This decision follows the recent proposal by the IOC's Executive Board and will be presented at the IOC Session ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The IOC has entered a 12-year partnership with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia to host the Olympic Esports Games.
According to the official announcement, HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, remarked, "The world is invited to join us in 2025 and celebrate this moment together."
Indian esports, which has witnessed consistent growth, is expected to gain from this development. India won a bronze medal in DOTA 2 at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and competed in five titles at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the groundbreaking development, Akshat Rathee, Co-founder and MD of NODWIN Gaming, said, "NODWIN Gaming is thrilled that esports has earned its place in the Olympics with its standalone event, akin to the Summer, Winter, and Paralympics. This recognition allows countries to develop independent esports programs. Together with our GEF and EWC partners, NODWIN Gaming is eager to build esports in our core growth markets, seizing this opportunity for hope and glory."
The IOC launched its first esports pilot, the Olympic Virtual Series, in 2021, followed by the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore in June 2023.
More than 130 players from across the world competed in 10 mixed-gender categories.
It attracted over 500,000 unique participants and six million views, with 75% of the audience aged 13 to 34.
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