Future of Esports opening ceremonies
Opening ceremonies are significant events that capture the attention of people interested in something other than sports. How it looks in esports world ?
The Paris Olympic Games opened with a massive opening ceremony. A vast audience watched this spectacle, although many may not have been watching sporting broadcasts.
Opening ceremonies are significant events that capture the attention of people interested in something other than sports. They tune in to witness a fantastic show and a spectacular event. By staging the event along the river Seine, the organizers transformed the heart of Paris into a grand stage.
In the past, attending a sports event primarily meant watching the game and cheering for your favorite team. Today, a big sporting tournament isn’t just a sports event—it’s a full-fledged entertainment experience. It’s a multi-sensory experience crafted to captivate and amuse fans from the moment they enter until after the final whistle has blown.
Just before the Paris Olympics began, the esports world announced that gaming disciplines would soon be included in the Olympic Esports Games. This is a significant milestone, especially considering the early efforts by Ralf Reichert, David Neichel, Craig Levine, and the entire ESL team to achieve this goal. As Andrew Yatsenko inspired me in his post related to the esports Olympics (OEG), I decided to write a little more about this in the context of esports opening ceremonies.
So, here you are.:
Opening ceremonies in esports
I [my company] had the privilege of working for ESL FACEIT Group - EFG before Saudi Arabia Savvy Games Group acquired it. From 2014 until COVID, we traveled with ESL, designing esports arenas and crafting technical production for their esports tournaments and opening ceremonies together with their team. At that time, these ceremonies included light shows and videos highlighting facts and figures from the previous year [see above IEM 2020 opening]
At the time, it was a significant step forward compared to the basic esports events organized years before. However, despite the growth of esports, opening ceremonies have remained almost the same. Occasionally, we see attempts to innovate, but the format, in my opinion, remains similar, whether it's an ESL FACEIT Group—EFG, BLAST, PGL, or other major esports event.
Sport or Show?
For me, esports tournaments have always been more of a show [spectacle] than a sport, even though I greatly respect the competition, gamers, games, and everything behind running this ecosystem. Esports is inherently focused on the games and the players, with audiences coming primarily to watch the competitions and their favorite gamers in action. Many voices in the community argue that opening or half-time shows would not work in esports.
So why do opening ceremonies work for significant sporting events?
Why are people excited and still remember the London 2012 opening ?
The answer lies in the spectacle, the cultural significance, and the sense of unity these ceremonies bring. They are designed to be grandiose, captivating events that resonate with people worldwide, creating lasting memories even if they don't watch the competitions themselves.
A lot has been done to develop the esports ecosystem regarding games, gamers, prizes, and event calendars, but there is still a huge opportunity to create a massive show.
This includes opening and half-time shows that can become a spectacle in their own right. Of course, this has to be crafted with innovative ideas and probably involve superstars and even more amazing arenas. It could incorporate elements of classic opening ceremonies like those designed and produced by Marco Balich from BALICH WORLDWIDE SHOWS S.R.L.
Still, it also has the potential to incorporate characters and elements from gaming worlds that traditional sports lack. There is also significant potential to upgrade esports arenas in terms of size and creativity, perhaps moving away from traditional stages, shapes, and forms.
Future of esports opening ceremonies
In my opinion, esports has the potential to create equally attractive and modern opening ceremonies. By integrating advanced technology, creative storytelling, and a deep understanding of gaming culture, esports can develop unique opening events that captivate both dedicated fans and a broader audience even more than they do today.
Bringing talented creators and artists together to combine the existing status quo and allowing non-gaming show producers to collaborate with esports professionals can lead to creating something truly different from what we have today. This collaboration can result in a spectacular show and an opening ceremony that is not merely a copy of traditional sports openings but something original in form and art.
With Saudi Arabia's appetite for creating large-scale events, there is a chance that, with Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Esports Federation, and Esports World Cup Foundation support, we will witness an esports opening ceremony on par with Olympic ceremonies, sooner or later [hopefully].
BLAST , led by Robbie Douek, and PGL , led by Silviu Stroie , also fill arenas with their events; there is a real chance some organizers may decide to do something "out-of-the-box" and will introduce to audience opening, which raises the bar for the entire industry. Who will be the first?
While it may be difficult to schedule more first-league tournaments throughout the year, it may be worth competing not only for the biggest prize pool but also for those who put on the best show!
You may also wat to read: