Saudi Arabia to host first-ever Olympic eSports Games in 2025, IOC announces

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is determined to host the first inaugural Olympic eSports Games in Saudi Arabia in 2025. The IOC members unanimously authorized the Olympic eSports Games at the 142nd session in Paris. The initiative will be executed in collaboration with the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.

“This is truly a new era for the IOC. With the confirmation by the IOC session of the creation of the Olympic Esports Games, we are keeping up with the pace of the digital revolution. The esports community, represented in our Esports Commission, has enthusiastically engaged with this initiative. This is further proof of the attractivity of the Olympic brand and the values it stands for among young people. The NOC of Saudi Arabia will bring great—if not unique—experience in the field of esports to this project. This partnership is based on the Olympic Charter and the Olympic values,” stated Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee.

HRH Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal credited the growth of esports in Saudi Arabia to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030. He stressed the importance of nurturing the nation’s youth and their role in esports' future.

The Prince of Saudi Arabia said that the Kingdom wants to motivate a lot of athletes by adding e-sports to the Olympics, giving heroes new chances, and sharing the Olympic spirit. Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, President of the Women’s Committee and a member of the IOC, pointed out that Vision 2030 has led to social change and given women and young people more power. She additionally noted that over 23.5 million Saudis play video games.

While the IOC has wanted to include e-sports in the Olympics for a long time, the scale has kept them from doing so. Adding an esports event to the Olympics would bring in thousands of more fans as well as players.

Previously, the IOC and the Global Association of International Sports Federations convened a meeting in 2018, which was attended by over 150 people from the gaming industry, to discuss esports. Furthermore, the IOC hosted the inaugural Olympic Esports week in Singapore in June 2023, which featured over 100 participants across 10 virtual sports.

The tournaments are suggested to take place every two years; however, no definitive verdict has been reached. The IOC and the Saudi national Olympic body will jointly organize regular events for a period of twelve years.