And then came the staggering figure: the Saudi government paid France $250 million to save the day. Additionally, with more than $400 million invested in the tournament, as confirmed to this publication by the owner of a leading global esports company based in India, the event could have been in jeopardy without this paid partnership. France was preparing to embrace the FIFA World Cup when an unexpected opportunity came knocking. A little over a month later, Paris was set to host another World Cup, only this time it wasn’t for a sport the country is traditionally associated with. Organisers needed a city that could deliver at short notice without compromising on infrastructure, logistics or fan experience. With a proven track record of hosting big-ticket tournaments, the French capital became the leading candidate.
The Esports World Cup, after two successful editions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was left without a home due to safety concerns stemming from the conflict between the United States and Iran in the Middle East.
So seamless was the transition that by July 2, the Porte de Versailles looked as if it had always been destined to host the Esports World Cup. Carlsen, in fact, was scheduled to play an exhibition game with NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo on Day 1. “When you have eight weeks, approximately 50 days to plan an event that has more than 2,000 players and millions of fans coming, operates for seven weeks, has 450 broadcast personnel, requires moving stages and designing stages, there are a lot of problems – more than you can imagine.
The star of the show, and the face of the event, Magnus Carlsen was plastered across billboards and posters all over the city, sharing frames with League of Legends star ‘Faker’ and Cristiano Ronaldo. Fans thronged the venue a day in advance. Karim Benzema, Nick Kyrgios and F1’s Pierre Gasly were already locked in as star attractions. He fell sick and could not attend, but his absence did little to dampen the mood. Inside and outside the venue, the atmosphere was no less than a festival. And yet, it may not be enough. Next year, the EWC will return to Saudi Arabia, meaning that the Paris edition, despite the fanfare, could be nothing more than a one-off contingency plan. What began as an emergency relocation may have accelerated a longer-term ambition: turning the World Cup into a travelling global spectacle, with different cities taking turns to host it while Riyadh remains its permanent home and operational hub. Paris, with its global appeal and enthusiastic reception, has now provided a hard-hitting proof of concept. For organisers, the sudden switch has demonstrated that the tournament can move, adapt and still deliver at scale. The question now is whether Paris was simply a fortunate substitute or the first glimpse of a new era in which the World Cup truly belongs to the world. “For now, it’s been super successful. We’ve learned a lot from here as well. But yes, I think we will see the World Cup rotating. We don’t know where or when, but I think, at the end of it, it will be a global IPL of the world, with Riyadh as the hub and the host by default.”
But what we had was an incredible team that turned this into a reality,” says McCab.
