The IOC has moved a step closer to holding an Olympic Esports Games.
IOC members will vote at a July 22-24 session on the creation of an Olympic Esports Games after a proposal made by the IOC Executive Board.
IOC President Thomas Bach said Friday that there are already “advanced discussions” with a potential host of the event. Should the IOC members approve it, an announcement is expected very soon.
“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,” Bach said. “We are really very excited at how enthusiastically the esports community represented in the IOC Esports Commission has engaged with our initiative in all their meetings. This is further proof of the attractivity of the Olympic brand and the values it stands for and we stand for.”
At an IOC session last October, Bach asked the IOC Esports Commission to study the possible creation of an Olympic Esports Games.
Bach said Friday that commission came back quickly with “a very clear and concrete concept.”
The IOC has engaged with the esports community since 2018 “while always staying true to the values that are guiding the IOC,” Bach said.
In 2021, the IOC developed the Olympic Virtual Series, its first pilot venture into esports.
In June 2023, the IOC launched the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore, which was streamed online. In partnership with international federations of Olympic sports, there were more than 130 players from around the globe in 10 mixed-gender events.
