The Paris Olympic bid committee will consider esports for inclusion as a medal event in the 2024 Olympic Games, according to Tony Estanguet, the committee’s co-president. Estanguet told the Associated Press that talks have been scheduled with the International Olympic Committee and with esports representatives “to better understand what the process is and why it is such a success”.
The Olympic Games Rio 2016 (Photo via Rodrigo Soldon/Flickr)
Estanguet also had some thoughts for esports sceptics out there: “We have to look at it because we can’t say, ‘It’s not us. It’s not about Olympics.’ The youth, yes they are interested in esport and this kind of thing. Let’s look at it. Let’s meet them. Let’s try if we can find some bridges.”
This won’t be the first time that competitive video games have contended for a slot in the Olympics. The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio featured an “eGames” showcase with exhibition matches rather than medal events; eight international teams competed in Smite and Super Smash Brothers Wii U. This past April, the Olympic Council of Asia announced the first medal event for esports will unfold at the 2022 Asian Games.
Ahead of esports’ official inclusion in the 2022 Asian Games, the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia will feature esports contests as a demonstration, in the same spirit as Rio’s 2016 eGames showcase. The Paris Olympics 2024 program will be finalised after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so the committee will have years to consider the question and take note of the reception to these showcase competitions.
“There is some time to look at it, to interact, to engage,” said Estanguet. “The IOC will have the last say, if they want esports on the program.”
Comments
23 responses to “Paris Olympic Committee Will Consider Esports For The 2024 Games”
This would certainly engage a lot of younger people. I might even have a watch. I was just thinking about whether I would bother setting up my TV for coverage of the next one. Probably not as they push the ads hardest during that time and it’s one of the things I can no longer tolerate after years of digital files/streaming/physical media only.
Next step is for the OGC to go ‘No more TV. Where just gona stream it all online via Twitch’ lolz
I thought the olympics were about athletics?
Next im sure the will have fat olympics just to be inclusive.
This world is getting out of hand – its a video game, it does not show prowess of any kind other than you’re the best basement dweller there is.
Why not include sex as a sport, who can last the long, get the most strokes in?
Its as stupid an idea as this one.
3/10 troll.
You have failed to qualify for the trollympics.
You thought wrong.
There is all sorts of random stuff in there and they can add and subtract stuff each year. Horse riding and sailing are some of the stranger ones.
Yet they still require actual physical exertion – how does sitting in a chair playing a computer game equate?
Why not bring chess in? It was slated for 2020 but rejected on the grounds that the mental exertion does not equate to the spirit of the olympics.
Tell me how does e-sports differentiate from that explanation?
Im happy for a valid argument – a genuine response like the one provided.
@acosnave – nice try, but poor execution
Riding a horse requires some physical exertion, yes, but it’s more about “can my horse bend over and walk sideways”. It’s a completely different level compared to someone running a marathon compared to someone shooting a gun compared to a goalie standing in the goals and occasionally diving at the ball.
Boil it down and it’s all “Are you the best at this thing we have decided to test”. Not necessarily something super physical.
We watch top people play soccer, baseball and basketball. Why not add a digital game to that?
Well you set the tone, perhaps you should’ve started with this more reasoned comment instead? Happy to have a reasonable discussion on it.
Depending on the e-sport it can differ quite a bit from chess, a game like Starcraft for example requires significant physical exertion and coordination to play the game at that level.
Being able to perform up to 400 actions per minute effectively requires stamina and dexterity – and it is legitimately possible to get injured playing, I can’t think of any specific SC players but I know CSGO players like Guardian and Olofmeister are examples of what toll these games can have on the players.
So whilst it definitely doesn’t seem like a traditional Olympic sport I think it may be more or a physical strain than Olympic shooting for example.
Although it might be easier to say if it qualifies or not depending on which specific games they look at, I’d definitely agree with what you’re saying if they were considering bringing Minecraft to the Olympics.
If you’re not trolling, you may be shocked to find that this is not a new thing…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_art_competitions
If you can educate me on how Town Planning/Architecture are “athletic” events, and how “this world” differs from the one back in 1928-48, then I’ll concede…
In ancient Greece poets, sculptors, orators (yes, ancient lawyers) and other artists were competing.The “Pentathlon of the Muses” at 1912-1948 awarded medals for literature, architecture, sculpture, music and painting. In modern times we have chess as a separate Olympic event. In 2020 we might see bowling at Japanese Olympics. I do not see why not they shouldn’t consider e-sports.
physical activitysport
spɔːt/
noun
noun: sport; plural noun: sports
1.
an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
Im sure you get a workout sitting there clicking left right and centre and getting a cardio work out from all the energy drinks.
Sitting playing games is not a sport.
Actually, you are wrong, by definition eSports is a sport, that is a fact that is not discussable. If you want to talk about what it takes to be a REAL sport or PROPER sport then you might have a reason to say that eSports is not a TRUE sport.
But if you were to take that road, you would have to point out what game is not a TRUE sport. The amount of physical and mental skill it takes to play high end competitive eSports such as League of Legends, Starcraft, DOTA2 and CSGO to name a few, is so high, that no normal person could get on and play as a pro. These games take 10’s of thousands of hours to master, and even then, you still might not make it to be a pro, as you and thousands of other people around the world are at this level of skill.
I get your point when you say that just sitting in a chair clicking your mouse and keyboard playing games is not a sport, but if you were to just jump onto YouTube and watch a few videos of the games I listed above, you might get a real feel of how hard it really is to play these games.
I would be furious if games such as Minecraft, FIFA, NFL, NBA or any racing game, got into the Olympics, because these kinds of games are easy to play and not hard to be a pro at. But if a game such as the ones listed above got in, they are justified to be there, because to be a pro at these games, you cannot just be a normal person living a normal life.
go back to your mums basement mate
I was genuinely not trolling – i honestly believe there is no reason a esports should feature in the olympics.
You realise everyone is entitled to their own opinion and just because it does not fit within the realm of what you believe to be acceptable – does not automatically constitute someone being a troll – oh gee, i disagree – you are a troll. wake up to yourselves.
You guys need to get off your high horses.
all this ‘inclusive’ crap these days, getting out of hand.
Just another reason for the youth of today to boycott schools with aspirations of becoming the next world champ of pokemon go.
Good luck to them, i think its a pathetic idea and as its my opinion, i am entitled to it.
Fair enough, you can have your opinion.
My point was, if Town Planning and Architecture can be classified as a sport, which it has been (people have actually won medals), then esports is no different. This is not a “this generation of inclusiveness” thing. The Olympics has shown a history of it.
I’m not necessarily in agreeance with the idea of having esports at the Olympics either. But at the end of the day, there’s no reason it shouldnt be considered. Honestly there’s a bunch of “sports” that should be removed in my opinion. As stated above, Equestrian for example hardly requires any exertion from the rider, and yet that’s a sport (and dont tell me it does require exertion because the dressage 100% does not, it’s literally just a rider sitting on a horse going through a pre-rehearsed routine). Shooting only really requires aim, there’s no real physical exertion there either (how is that different to playing Overwatch etc at the Olympics). It’s still just hand/eye co-ordination…
The other issue here is that a) as far as I know it has to be recognised as a sport first and then b) has to be allocated as a sport in the Olympics. Reading this article https://www.britannica.com/demystified/how-are-sports-chosen-for-the-olympics suggests that esports probably wont get anywhere near becoming a sport in the Olympics, because currently there’s no overseeing body, and it’s hindered by the same issue hindering Chess (albeit a rule they’ve previously broken – that “mind sports” are not allowed).
Also, on a side note, being completely sarcastic in tone in your initial comment doesnt help convince people you want a rational conversation about something.
This is ridiculous. Esports have their place and can draw a crowd but they’re not real sports
I love that my hobby is getting a lot more mainstream. But i somewhat do agree with this. its a show of skill for sure, but it shouldn’t be part of the Olympics.
Let it be its own thing..
Part of me thinks its only getting included because some dude decided e”sports” was a good name for it. Then some old olympics dude went, oh, its got “sports” in the name.. must consider it.
hahaha, wait…is this for real?
Im a hardcore gamer and even i still laugh at the idea of “progamers’ and ‘esports”
how do u compare olypmic sports with playing video games???
So glad that i am not alone in thinking this is absolutely stupid.
Next up they will have math competitions, spelling bees.
And everyone will get a participation medal.
Some people do it professionally and make a living from it.
Just like some people do the same playing soccer.
That is not the argument though.
I’m a computer nerd for a living – when are the olympics going to include a ‘whos the best network engineer or ETL developer’?
There’s no competition around that currently.
ahhh, fair call. I get what you mean.