For the 2024 Paris Olympics, the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that during the next IOC session, they will officially suggest and discuss the creation or organization of the Olympic esports games. They have also disclosed that this is already in advanced discussions with a potential host for the esports games. According to the IOC, after all the formalities of the games are finalized, a final announcement can be expected from them very soon.
The organization created the “IOC eSports Commission” in September 2023, and after the first month of its creation, they announced their plans to organize an Olympic esports game later on. The executive board has organized the Olympic Games in a variety of ways in recent years. Previously, they organized the Olympic virtual series and the Olympic eSports Week. However, despite the likes of Rocket Leagues, Street Fighter, Gran Turismo, and NBA 2K23, the events received poor viewership.
According to the IOC executive board, the first partner in the Olympic esports games will be the International Federation of Esports, which is already engaged in the e-version of its sports. In June 2024, they also partnered with ESIC to combat misconduct in esports.
If the IOC members vote favorably for the Olympic esports games, then there will be no obstacles or problems in the creation of the games. Additionally, the IOC announced that a “completely new dedicated structure within the IOC” will be responsible for the esports games, and it will separate from the organizational and financial model for the Olympic games.
IOC President Thomas Bach said, “With the creation of Olympic esports games, the IOC is taking a major step forward and keeping up with the pace of the digital revolution. We are very excited about how enthusiastically the esports community represented in our esports commission has engaged with the initiative. This is further proof of the attractivity of the Olympic brand and the value it stands for.”
The IOC Executive Board will discuss the creation of esports games in the next session, which will happen in Paris along with the 2024 Olympic Games; however, the decision will come with some notice. Olympic games have a set of values that all sports must stick to, and their game lineup is also different from all the other esports game competitions. Games like Counter-Strike and League of Legends have potentially violent themes; these are discarded from the Olympic Esports event.
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