Mumbai, India, October 15, 2023: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is exploring plans for the creation of Olympic Esports Games. The ground-breaking announcement was made by IOC President Thomas Bach during the Opening Ceremony of the 141st IOC Sessions taking place in Mumbai, India, in the presence of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
“Your presence here today, dear Prime Minister, is a testimony to [the] growing importance of Olympic sport in your wonderful country. This is why I am offering you a very warm welcome – thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for gracing us with your presence. India is an inspiring place to hold our IOC Session – a country that combines a splendid history and a dynamic present with a vigorous confidence in the future,” the IOC President said.
Thomas Bach also thanked IOC Member in India Mrs. Nita Ambani for her warm welcome and generous hospitality, saying: “Already during our short time here, we could get a first impression of the excellent ways you, Nita, are promoting sport and athletes in India. What you have achieved in both business and sport is simply remarkable. Through your Reliance Foundation you are bringing the Olympic values to millions of students, giving them the opportunity to build their lives in and through sport. You are spreading the Olympic spirit across your vast country and in this way you are making the world a better place through sport.”
Turning to esports, the IOC President noted that there are three billion people playing esports and gaming around the world. It is estimated that over 500 million of them are interested specifically in esports, which includes virtual sports and sport simulations. Thomas Bach said: “What is even more relevant to us: a majority of them are under the age of 34.”
The IOC President announced: “I have asked our new IOC Esports Commission to study the creation of Olympic Esports Games.”
The IOC has been engaging with esports since 2018 in a holistic way. “We chose an approach that would allow us to be active in the esports space while staying true to our values that have guided us for over a century. With respect to esports, our values are and remain the red line that we will not cross. Our crystal-clear position is gaining more and more respect also in the esports community. One of the leading publishers even adapted their popular game to conform fully with our Olympic values – so that players shot at targets, not at people,” the IOC President emphasised.
The first engagement of the IOC with the esports community was the organisation of the Esports Forum in 2018 in Lausanne, followed by the set-up of an Esports Liaison Group to have a platform to engage with all the esports stakeholders. In 2021, the IOC developed the Olympic Virtual Series. It was the IOC’s first pilot venture in esports.
President Bach explained: “Building on the learnings from this Olympic Virtual Series, we then launched the Olympic Esports Week in Singapore earlier this year. In Singapore, we saw proof that our holistic approach is working. We successfully brought together the Olympic and the esports communities.
“This was a promising start. But it is just that: a start. It is like in any sport: after even a promising start, the real race still lies ahead,” Thomas Bach concluded.
Source: IOC