The International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach announced on Friday, June 14, that the plan for introducing esports games in the Olympics is to be approved next month in Paris.
Olympic Esports Games will be introduced on the IOC events portfolio as an international competition similar to the Summer and Winter Olympics.
“With the creation of Olympic Esports Games, the IOC is taking a major step forward in keeping up with the pace of the digital revolution," IOC president Thomas Bach said. “We are very excited how enthusiastically the esports community represented in our Esports Commission has engaged with this initiative. This is further proof of the attractivity of the Olympic brand and the values it stands for.”
“With respect to esports, our values are and remain the red line that we will never cross,” the IOC President said.
In 2021, the IOC developed the Olympic Virtual Series, the first pilot venture in esports. Last year in June, the committee launched the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore. According to the IOC, over 130 players from across the world competed last year in Singapore, with all the action streamed online (including qualifier legs) generating more than six million views across all channels.
At the IOC meeting on June 14, 2024, it was highlighted that Olympic Esports Games “must happen under a completely new dedicated structure within the IOC, clearly separated from the organisational and financial model for the Olympic Games.”
The International Olympic Committee said Friday it will ask members to approve a proposal to create a video game Olympics when they meet next month in Paris.
The 2024 Summer Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024, in France, with Paris as the main host city of the XXXIII Olympiad.
