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For the first time in history, the IOC has voted for the creation of Olympics Esports Games. The first Games will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2025. [Thanks, Dexterto!]
This event will run for twelve years, with regular events during that time period. The IOC was considering creating Olympic Esports Games back in 2023 when it asked the IOC Esports Commission to study the logistics and such that would go into it. Granted, back in 2023, the esports event at the Olympics had games like Tic Tac Bow, Just Dance, and Tennis Clash, which are not actual esports games. Now that the Games (for real) will take place in Saudia Arabia, the IOC will start working on logistics like host city, venue, timing, and qualification process.
Quotes from people like HRH Prince Abudalaziz bin Turki Al Faisal (Minister of Sport and President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee) and HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud indicate that Saudi Arabia in particular has a rich history of esports with millions of gamers (almost half of whom are female). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is seeing a lot of sports growth as a whole, with women in particular becoming more active in areas like esports, golf, equestrian, and such. There are “now over 330,000 registered female athletes and nearly 40 women’s national teams competing internationally.” There is also pay equality when it comes to male and female athletes.
On paper, everything sounds great. But the IOC, even a whole year before the 2024 Paris Games, found itself yet again in hot water with corruption allegations and security concerns. These happen almost every Olympics, such as during the 2016 and 2021 ones. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also “the worst of the worst” when it comes to political and civil rights. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a 2023 Fox News interview that he would continue “doing sport washing” if it would increase the Kingdom’s GDP even by 1%. Sport washing is the whitewashing of the country’s international image via heavy sports investment.
More information on the Olympic Esports Games will appear in the future.
