{"id":36891,"date":"2024-07-14T18:20:09","date_gmt":"2024-07-14T22:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/?p=36891"},"modified":"2024-07-14T18:20:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-14T22:20:09","slug":"olympic-esports-games-2025-to-be-held-in-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/olympic-esports-games-2025-to-be-held-in-saudi-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Esports Games 2025 to be held in Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On June 14, 2024, Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced the creation of the Olympic Esports Games, with the first edition set to take place in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The inaugural event will be hosted by Saudi Arabia, as revealed by L\u2019Equipe.<\/p>\n<p>This announcement follows the success of the <a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/esports-world-cup\/\" title=\"Esports World Cup betting guide\">Esports World Cup<\/a> in Riyadh, which hosts 21 esports titles across 22 tournaments and aligns with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Vision 2030 plan, which heavily invests in the esports industry.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The IOC has partnered with the National Olympic Committee of Saudi Arabia to host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games 2025 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. <\/p>\n<p>This follows the IOC\u2019s recent announcement to establish the Olympic Esports Games. <\/p>\n<p>More: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/by155ZBxfn\">https:\/\/t.co\/by155ZBxfn<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/l7GimbPzZj\">pic.twitter.com\/l7GimbPzZj<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iocmedia\/status\/1811720478697881848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 12, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Thomas Bach explained that the Esports Olympics would be organised within a new specialised structure within the IOC and would be distinct from the traditional Olympic Games in terms of organisation and financial model.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative awaits validation at the 142nd IOC session.<\/p>\n<p>The event is planned to take place at the end of 2025 to accommodate various competitive calendars.<\/p>\n<p>Following the inaugural event, the Olympic Esports Games will occur every two years, with South Korea and the United States already in discussions to host future editions.<\/p>\n<p>The Olympic Esports Games will feature three categories: virtual sports, sports simulations (such as EA FC24 and NBA2K), and popular esports games (like <a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/league-of-legends\/\" title=\"League of Legends betting guide\">League of Legends<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>The IOC aims to include around 15 games across these categories, engaging over 60 nations.<\/p>\n<p>Discussions are underway to incorporate games like Rocket League and Street Fighter.<\/p>\n<p>This new initiative marks the IOC\u2019s renewed effort to integrate esports into the Olympics ecosystem, following past attempts that had limited success.<\/p>\n<p>The IOC acknowledges the unique aspects of esports, particularly those games like League of Legends that are not linked to traditional sports or international sports federations.<\/p>\n<p>Despite previous challenges, the IOC remains optimistic about esports&#8217; place within the Olympic framework.<\/p>\n<p>Bach highlighted the enthusiastic response from the esports community and the attractiveness of the Olympic brand.<\/p>\n<p>Historically, the IOC has supported esports events, such as the 2019 Intel World Open featuring <a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/rocket-league\/\" title=\"Rocket League betting guide\">Rocket League<\/a> and Street Fighter V, and the FIFAe World Cup established in 2004.<\/p>\n<p>The formal approval of the Olympic Esports Games is expected during the IOC committee meeting from July 22\u201324, 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Details regarding the specific titles and further organisational aspects will follow post-approval.<\/p>\n<p>The IOC has entered into a 12-year partnership with the Saudi Olympic Committee to host the games, ensuring continuity and leveraging Saudi Arabia&#8217;s expertise in esports.<\/p>\n<p>However, this partnership has faced criticism due to Saudi Arabia\u2019s human rights record, particularly concerning women and LGBTQ+ communities.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, the IOC\u2019s partnership with Saudi Arabia for the Olympic Esports Games signifies a significant step towards integrating esports into the Olympic movement, promising a distinct structure and approach while aiming to uphold Olympic values.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/esportbet.com\/news\/\" class=\"contentLinkBtn\">More esports news<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Olympic Committee\u00a0has announced that the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games will take place in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3449,3679,3700,2175,3701],"class_list":["post-36891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-esports-world-cup","tag-international-olympic-committee","tag-olympic-esports-games","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-thomas-bach"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>IOC Announce Saudi Arabia As Olympic Esports Host Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The International Olympic Committee\u00a0has announced that the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games will take 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