Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – August 24, 2024 – The New Global Sport Conference (NGSC) 2024 kicked off at the Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh, reaffirming Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global esports and gaming hub. With over 1,200 industry leaders, CEOs, athletes, and creatives in attendance, the event launched under the theme ‘The Future of Fandom’.
Key session ‘Game On, Saudi Arabia’ featured HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, who emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to becoming a central part of global esports dialogue, without monopolizing the space. Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, underlined the growing importance of fandom and emerging technologies like AR, VR, and AI in reshaping audience engagement.
The event, aligned with the National Gaming and Esports Strategy, highlighted the Kingdom’s target of contributing $13 billion to GDP by 2030 through esports growth. Other standout panels included ‘Becoming a Modern Sports Hero’ with Patrice Evra and Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, and ‘A Historic Convergence of Esports’ discussing the upcoming Olympic Esports Games 2025 in Saudi Arabia.
NGSC 2024 continues on August 25 with sessions on esports-sports convergence and the future of game development, with HRH Prince Faisal officially opening day two.
