The 2022 Commonwealth Games will pilot esports events

On 9 February, the International Esports Federation (GEF) and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) announced that the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games will pilot esports events.

The Commonwealth Esports Championship will be held at the Birmingham International Convention Centre in August 2022. This is the first time esports has appeared at the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Esports Championship will be held concurrently with the Commonwealth Games, but will have its own brand, medals, organization and management.

The event will feature esports athletes from across the Commonwealth, with organizers announcing that a "global multi-genre competition" will be held. There is no official announcement of which esports projects are available, but the Daily Mail has mentioned that Dota2 may be one of the sports.

It is reported that in the traditional sports of the event, only athletics and swimming are currently mandatory. The success of eSports events in attracting young audiences will be a key factor in whether they can become permanent events.

The Commonwealth Games are held every four years, and the Commonwealth Games Federation wants esports to be part of the entire event ahead of the 2026 Games, and Hamilton, Canada, the host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, is also keen to include esports.

Exploring esports is one of the recommendations outlined in the strategic roadmap for new Commonwealth Sports from 2026 to 2030. According to the announcement, organizers hope the new event will attract new spectators and enable Commonwealth sports to further explore the potential of esports.

The Commonwealth Games are mega sporting events that span all continents, with all the countries participating in the Commonwealth. The rules stipulate that each British Union Games has at least 10 sports and a maximum of 15 events, some of which have core sports that must exist in each Games, others will be different choices according to the host, and the host country can also declare some group events to the Commonwealth Conference.

At the last Commonwealth Games, held on Australia's Gold Coast, more than 6,600 athletes from more than 70 countries and territories participated and were broadcast live to more than 1.5 billion viewers worldwide. Thanks to the influence of the Games, the Gold Coast has received huge economic development opportunities. According to Nigel Chamier, then president of the Commonwealth Movement, the economic volume of about 2 billion that the Games were expected to bring directly doubled to 405 billion. This shows the influence of the event.