The Committee for the 2024 Summer Olympics Games in Paris has expressed interest in including eSports in the international sporting event.
Paris and Los Angeles were the two cities that remained the most in the bid to hold the 2024 Summer Olympics Games. However, Los Angeles pulled out of bidding for 2024 and instead will host the 2028 summer game, which is expected to become official shortly.
Both cities' committees dealing with bidding and other planning for the applications to hold the 2024 Summer Olympics have now expressed interest in a possible eSports tournament in connection with the Olympic Games.
Earlier, it was reported that Los Angeles's proposal to include eSports in the event was to try to attract younger viewers. In recent years, the Olympic Games have seen decreasing audience figures between the ages of 18 and 49, something that both Paris and Los Angeles think could be addressed using eSports.
Tony Estanguet, co-president of the Paris Olympic bid committee, has explained how the organizers of the Olympic Games in Paris do not dismiss eSports in the Olympic Games, but that they do not have the same knowledge about the phenomenon that the Committee has for the more traditional disciplines that usually appear in the Olympic Games.
"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 esports 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," said Tony Estanguet, co-president of the Paris Olympic bid committee.
The 2024 Summer Olympics Games will take shape in 2019 and the official list of branches included will appear after the Tokyo Olympics by 2020.
