Olympic Esports Games: 1^st edition postponed from 2025 to 2027, but will still be in Riyadh (KSA)

The International Olympic Committee has officially postponed the first Olympic Esports Games, initially scheduled (during the 142^nd IOC Session on 12/07/2024) for 2025, until 2027, announced the IOC on 11/02/2025. The event is still scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of the 12-year partnership (2024-2035) between the IOC and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC), which provides for the "regular" staging of the Olympic Esports Games in the country.

"There is now a very clear roadmap for the very first esport Olympic Games. These Games are becoming a reality. This is further proof of the strength of the partnership between the IOC and the CNOP of Saudi Arabia in many areas," said Thomas Bach, IOC president, during a meeting in Riyadh on 09/02/2025 with Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, president of the SOPC and Minister of Sports.

The IOC and the Saudi Olympic Committee have thus formalised the creation of a joint committee "set up to steer the Games", chaired by IOC member Ser…