As expected, the first edition of the eSport Olympics will not take place this year. The IOC announced on Tuesday that it would finally be held in 2027, in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia. Many doubts had emerged in recent weeks as to the possibility for the organizers to meet the deadlines, the event being initially planned for the end of 2025. This time, the course is set. "For the organisation of these Games, the IOC has partnered with the Saudi Arabian National Olympic and Paralympic Committee (NOPC). As part of this cooperation, the Esports World Cup Foundation(EWCF) to become Founding Partner of the eSports Olympics », explains the instance. Already driving force behind the eSports World Cup, the EWCF will bring « son expertise en matière de sélection des jeux, de structure des tournois et d’engagement de l’écosystème pour favoriser l’innovation dans le développement des Jeux olympiques de l’eSport ».
A joint Committee of the IOC and the Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee has been set up to run the Games, with Ser Miang Ng and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal at its helm. It is already working on defining which video games will be selected. "It now exists a very clear roadmap for the first ever eSports Olympics. The journey to the eSports Olympics began this year and the Games are becoming a reality », said Thomas Bach, who met with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, as well as the Chairman of the Saudi Arabian National Opportunity Commission and Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, last Sunday in Riyadh.
