The International Esports Federation (IESF) has officially opened the bidding process for host cities for the 2025 and 2026 World Esports Championships and Regional Qualifiers.
Event details
The 2024 World Esports Championship is set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later this year, following the 2023 event held in Iasi, Romania.
The IESF is now inviting cities from around the world to submit bids for hosting future events, encouraging potential hosts to explore the benefits and opportunities associated with bringing these prestigious esports tournaments to their locations.
Championship overview and bidding process
Since its inception in 2009, the World Esports Championship has featured a variety of tournaments across multiple esports titles. National esports federations from IESF member countries send teams to compete in a global showdown. The 2024 event will feature popular titles including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and PUBG Mobile.
Boban Totovski, General Secretary of IESF, expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming bidding process, saying in a report from Esports Insider, “Following successful events in Bali, Iasi, and Riyadh, we are excited to find our next host city for the 17th World Esports Championship. We have received interest from numerous cities, and we look forward to beginning the negotiations and announcing the new host city on November 19th in Riyadh during the closing ceremony.”
In May, the Russian Esports Federation (RESF) declined the IESF’s request for Russian players to compete under a neutral flag, asserting its refusal to abandon its national flag and anthem. This decision came in the wake of IESF’s decision to bar Russian competitors from events due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The IESF’s neutral flag request followed the RESF’s establishment of offices in internationally recognized Ukrainian territories.
The IESF’s call for host city bids signals a pivotal moment for the organization as it continues to expand the reach and influence of its global esports events.
