Saudi Arabia to host first E-sports Olympics in 2025

LAUSSANE, Switzerland: Saudi Arabia will host the inaugural E-sports Olympics in 2025 the International Olympic Committee said on Friday (Jul 12).

"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that it has partnered with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Saudi Arabia to host the inaugural Olympic E-sports Games 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the body said.

"The proposal will be made to the IOC Session, which will be held on the eve of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

"The duration of the partnership between the IOC and the Saudi NOC will be 12 years, with Olympic E-sports Games held regularly."

Riyadh is already to host the E-sports World Cup in July and August, when 2,500 gamers will battle for US$60 million in prize money.

The IOC, in its perpetual quest to reconcile Olympic tradition with attempts to attract a younger audience, held an initial "Olympic e-sport week" in Singapore in June 2023, consisting of "ten mixed-gender category events".

Last October, the IOC set up an "e-sport commission" chaired by Frenchman David Lappartient, the president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), to consider a dedicated competition.

However, IOC president Thomas Bach has said in the past he does not see e-sports as part of the traditional Olympics.

"With respect to esports, our values are and remain the red line that we will never cross," he said.

Nevertheless, he expressed his delight that the E-sports Games had a natural home in Saudi Arabia.

"We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi NOC on the Olympic E-sports Games, because it has great - if not unique - expertise in the field of esports with all its stakeholders," Bach said in a statement.

"The Olympic E-sports Games will greatly benefit from