The co-president of the Paris Olympic bid committee, Tony Estanguet, said to The Associated Press that he is open to the possibility of including eSports in the program of the 2024 Summer Olympics, and will discuss this matter with figures from the eSports scene and the International Olympic Committee.
“We have to look at it because we can’t say, ‘It’s not us. It’s not about Olympics,'” Estanguet told AP. “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.”
“I don’t want to say ‘no’ from the beginning. I think it’s interesting to interact with the IOC, with them, the esports family, to better understand what the process is and why it is such a success.” he continued.
Paris is actually not yet confirmed to be the host of the 2024 Olympics, but is likely to be named such next month. Their only competitor, Los Angeles, has instead chosen to take the 2028 Olympics.
The final list of sports for the 2024 Olympics will be officially announced after the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but actual work will begin starting 2019.
This is a big potential win for eSports, and will definitely further the growth and progression of the sport in a worldwide sense. This isn’t the first big news in recent weeks about eSports in a macroscopic sense, as players in the Philippines are now recognized as national athletes.
Source: ESPN
