IOC makes proposal to launch Esports Olympics

The first Olympic Esports Games "are set to be added soon to the IOC’s portfolio of events" as it "seeks to attract and retain young audiences." The IOC said today it will "ask members to approve a proposal to create a video game Olympics" when they meet next month in Paris. The governing body said it was in "advanced discussions with a potential host" that "should be announced soon after" the July 23-24 meeting in Paris. The Esports Olympics "will build on an IOC-backed week of video game competitions held last year in Singapore," which was "a mix of physical simulations of Olympic sports and traditional video games." Bach said the video games event "would have a financial model separate from the current sharing of revenue from the Summer Games and Winter Games" (AP, 6/14).