Tournament organizer BLAST has announced that it is looking for suitable venues and partners to host tournaments next year in the much-hyped CS2, as well as Rainbow Six Siege. In a press release, top executive James Woolard said their tournaments at previous BLAST events had generated around €22 million in revenue for the hosting city.
Hosting one of the major esports tournaments, such as a BLAST event, is a great honor for many cities and has some benefits because the event attracts tourists, which makes the city and of course a lot of money.
Pic.: James Woollard with BLAST trophy (credit: James Woollard linkedin)
These tourists pay for tickets, food, accommodation, entertainment etc and thus flush money into the country or the respective city and the residents of the region. How big such a sum is, is not quite clear to see, but according to James Woollard, it is probably in the tens of millions, more precisely a whopping 22 million.
Cities make big money hosting Esport events
James Woollard, BLAST’s director of commercial solutions, is now on the hunt for a new city to host the events. He commented, “Looking ahead to 2024, which is shaping up to be one of our biggest and best years, we are looking for more opportunities to host incredible events in leading locations around the world. With thousands of fans expected in the arena, including on average over 60% from outside the host city, and economic impact of over €22 million to the host city economy at previous BLAST events, we look forward to working with host cities to leverage these benefits for their locations while creating immersive esports experiences for fans.”
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At 22 million, it’s likely that quite a few cities will consider hosting the event, as no one wants to miss out on such a cash infusion. So far, however, there don’t seem to be any favorites, though there are certainly some cities that have applied in the meantime.
Upcoming BLAST events
The BLAST Premier is entering its 3rd season. During this time, the organizers have hosted the popular tournaments in Abu-Dhabi, Copenhagen, Lisbon and Washington D.C.. They have also hosted the CS:GO Major in Paris and the RMRs in 2023, but these events were not part of the annual tournament. If the format is maintained, BLAST will host three LAN events in 2024: two split-season finals and one world final. The BLAST Premier World Finals will be held this December and will have a prize pool of one million dollars. The online event will be held from Dec. 13 – Dec. 17, 2023.