Saudi Arabia and the International Olympic Committee have announced a 12-year agreement to host the new esports Olympics in the oil-rich kingdom starting next year.
The partnership promises “Olympic Esports Games held regularly”, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement on Friday, beginning with the Esports Olympics in 2025. Saudi Arabia did not disclose how much it planned to spend on the competition.
“This is a natural next step for our young athletes, our country and the global esports community,” said Prince Abdulaziz, who also heads the Saudi national Olympic committee.
The IOC said last month it planned to launch video gaming Olympics to try to attract and retain young fans and audiences. In a statement announcing the Saudi Arabia deal, the IOC said the agreement had “ensured that the Olympic values are respected”, emphasizing the “promotion of gender equality and engagement with the young audience, which is embracing esports”.
The announcement was made as the two-month Esports World Cup was held in Riyadh, the capital of the kingdom. The first formal hosting or sponsorship deal between the IOC and Saudi Arabia is the latest addition to the kingdom’s sprawling portfolio of sports events, including confirmation, due in December, to stage the 2034 World Cup in men’s football.
Sports and entertainment events are a key part of a program spearheaded by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called Vision 2030, which aims to move the Saudi economy away from dependence on oil and to modernize its society.
Saudi Arabia has hosted a swath of top-tier boxing events including heavyweight title fights in recent years, and created the LIV Golf project as a disruptive rival to the PGA Tour in the United States.
The kingdom also will host the 2027 Asian Cup in men’s football, the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which will take place in a ski resort specially built for it, and the multi-sport 2034 Asian Games in Riyadh.
The Saudi sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, said the country “has become a global hub for professional esports”.
Critics of Saudi Arabia’s record on human rights have said the push into international sports is in effect “sportswashing” to improve that reputation.
The Saudi deal must be signed off by the IOC membership, which meets on 23 and 24 July in Paris, on the eve of Games. That approval is typically a formality for projects proposed by the Olympic body’s leadership.
“We are very fortunate to be able to work with the Saudi committee on the Olympic Esports Games, because it has great – if not unique – expertise in the field of esports with all its stakeholders,” the IOC’s president, Thomas Bach, said.
Last month, Bach said the video gaming event would have a financial model separate from the summer and winter Games, which share revenue with governing bodies of sports on those programs.
