The International Olympic Committee partnered with the Global Association of International Sports Federations hosted a forum to discuss a possible future for eSports at the Olympics.
The forum was held at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne Switzerland. The forum was designed to begin a dialogue to build joint understanding and set a platform for future engagement between the esports and gaming industries and the Olympic Movement, the IOC said in a press release.
Participants included over 150 representatives from the eSports and gaming industry including players, publishers, teams, media, sponsors and event organizers. Form the IOC came various national Olympic committees, international sports federations, athletes, partners, broadcasters, the IOC and the GAISF, the release said
According to the IOC, the forum explored areas of commonality and potential collaboration, including the question of whether esports could be recognized as a sport—and in which form they could be represented within the Olympic Movement—when an organization does not currently exist that represents eSports globally. Because no such organization exists, including eSports on an Olympic program was not an immediate goal of the Esports forum.
“On behalf of GAISF and the IOC, I would like to thank all the participants at today’s forum” said GAISF President and IOC Member Patrick Baumann. One thing in particular was clear from these fascinating discussions. We are united by passion for our sports and a shared love of competition. That’s a positive starting point for further discussions about possible future cooperation between the Olympic and eSports communities.”
The eSports Forum follows the Olympic Summit held in October 2017, which asked the IOC, together with the GAISF, to explore this area in a dialogue with the gaming industry and players, the release said.
“The eSports Forum was a unique opportunity to hear from a wide variety of stakeholders, including some of the top players themselves,” IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said. “There was a consensus that future collaboration will be based on ensuring that any activity supports and promotes the Olympic value and while the goal was not to develop a pathway towards the inclusion of eSports on the Olympic program, we have a strong plan for ongoing dialogue and engagement, and are in a strong position to coordinate and support the wider engagement of the Olympic Movement with esports.”
The IOC and the GAISF will now establish an eSports liaison group to continue communication and engagement between the Olympic Movement and eSports and gaming stakeholders in order to identify areas of potential collaboration.
