It's official: the first Olympic cyber sports games will be held in Saudi Arabia in 2027
The idea of a Cybersport Olympics has long been discussed and considered in detail and now it has received not only official confirmation, but also the first important details.
Here's What We Know
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) have officially announced that the first Cybersport Olympics will be held in 2027 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Recall that in July last year, the 142nd session of the IOC decided to create the Olympic cyber sports games. To organise them, the IOC is cooperating with the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
As part of this co-operation, Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) will be the founding partner of the Olympic Cyber Sports Games. The IOC-EWCF partnership aims to create lasting impact, bridge the gap between cybersport and traditional sports, and expand opportunities for players and teams representing their countries.
In recent years, the EWCF has organised a huge number of large-scale cybersport events at the highest level. Unfortunately, most of the popular competitive games (DOTA, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty and others) will not be allowed to compete in the Olympic competition because they directly or indirectly contain violent elements, and according to the Olympic principles, games should represent sporting disciplines. Thus, in 2023, Singapore hosted the first such competitions for the following games:
- WBSC eBaseball: Power Pros - baseball;
- Chess.com - chess;
- Zwift - road cycling;
- Just Dance - dancing;
- Gran Turismo 7 - racing;
- Virtual Regatta - sailing;
- Virtual Taekwondo - taekwondo;
- Tennis Clash - tennis;
- Archery (Tic Tac Bow).
There are many questions as to how much spectators will be interested in such competitions, but preparations for the Olympic Cybersports Games begin later this year.
Source: International Olympic Committee
