The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, announced during a meeting in Mumbai (India) that the creation of the E-Sports Olympic Games is being studied. Bach revealed that he had asked the IOC's E-Sports Commission to analyse the possibility and feasibility of including these sports in the Olympic Games.
According to Bach, studies indicate that more than three billion people are fans of electronic games worldwide, including around 500 million people interested in E-Sports competitions, whether in games that simulate conventional sports or in other types of games.
In addition, the president emphasised that the majority of E-Sports players are under 34, which is of great interest to the IOC.
The creation of the Olympic E-Sports Games is a continuation of the IOC's initiatives to promote electronic competitions. In 2021, the IOC created the Olympic E-Sports Series, a circuit of electronic gaming competitions, and recently held E-Sports Week in Singapore in June.
The event featured debates, exhibitions and competitions in various games, both sports simulators and other popular games such as "Just Dance" and "Fortnite". According to Bach, these events are the first steps towards the creation of the E-Sports Olympic Games.
