Saudi Arabia to Host First Olympic Esports Games in 2025 in Cooperation with IOC
TapTechNews July 12th news, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) just announced that it will cooperate with the Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee (NOC) to hold the first Olympic Esports Games in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2025.
The IOC also stated that the cooperation period between the IOC and the Saudi Olympic Committee is 12 years, and esports Olympic events will be held regularly during this period.
This is a pioneering step after the IOC recently announced that the IOC Executive Board (EB) has established the Olympic Esports Games. The proposal will be submitted to the 142nd IOC Session to be held on the eve of the 2024 Paris Olympics for consideration.
According to today's announcement and the decisions made at the IOC meeting, the next step will be to start selecting the city and venue of the first Olympic Esports Games, determine the specific time of the event, the competition events, the qualification review procedures for participating athletes and other details.
The IOC has emphasized that the international federations that have already participated in its esports projects and considered including them in the Olympic esports events will become the preferred partners of the IOC. The same is true for the national Olympic committees that have already included esports in their activities.
At the same time, the IOC must establish a new dedicated structure within its organization, clearly separated from the organization and financial model of the Olympics. In order to deal with the particularities of the Olympic Esports Games, the IOC must also adopt different methods in the financing and organization of the Olympics.
This cooperation comes at a time when the sports industry in Saudi Arabia is experiencing a significant overall growth and is driven by the social and economic transformation under the Vision 2030. Since 2018, Saudi Arabia has been responsible for hosting some of the largest global sports events, holding more than 100 international events for male and female athletes, including esports, football, motorsports, tennis, equestrian and golf, attracting more than 2.6 million sports fans.
TapTechNews attached the original text as follows:
We are extremely honored to be able to cooperate with the Saudi Olympic Committee to hold the Olympic Esports competition, because the Saudi Olympic Committee has rich expertise in the esports field, if not unique, and is closely related to all stakeholders. The Olympic Esports competition will greatly benefit from this experience, said Thomas Bach, President of the IOC.
His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports and President of the Olympic and Paralympic Committee in Saudi Arabia, said: Saudi Arabia is extremely excited about the prospect of cooperating with the IOC and helping to welcome a new era in international sports. We believe that participating in the Olympics is one of the highest honors that any athlete can obtain. We are proud to support writing a new chapter in Olympic history, which has the potential to inspire new dreams and new aspirations for millions of athletes around the world.
As the 'first ever' esports Olympics, obviously we still have a lot of things to consider and plan with the IOC, but we are committed to holding a special event that respects and celebrates the Olympic values, while boldly seizing the momentum of promoting esports development and providing the due international platform for this sport and its athletes. We will issue an invitation to the world in 2025 to celebrate this moment together.
We are a young country with over 23 m illion gamers, greeting the future with new thinking and partnerships. With the support of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, our kingdom has become a global center for professional esports. Hosting this event is the result of the rich past, exciting present and promising future of the kingdom. It is the next logical step for our young athletes, our country and the global esports community.
Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, a member of the IOC, a board member of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the chairperson of the Women's Committee, said: I am extremely excited to see the growing trend of female participation in esports. I am honored to be committed to enhancing the rights of women in sports and in the entire society under the leadership of Vision 2030 and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. I have witnessed firsthand the tremendous positive impact that sports has on women and girls. I look forward to the Olympic Esports Games providing opportunities for more women from all over the world to participate in a safe and inclusive space.
President Bach said: The Women's Committee led by Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud of the IOC has played an important role in promoting women's sports in Saudi Arabia. They have achieved this progress in close cooperation with the Saudi Olympic Committee. Getting their support to promote female participation in esports is a valuable commitment. We look forward to the cooperation between the two sides.