For the second time after February 2022, Nice will host the LFL Days on July 5 and 6, namely two days of the French championship of League of Legends (LOL), the famous video game, organized face-to-face, and not only on the internet platforms. An event which had been a real popular success at the time, even though France was just emerging from the health crisis. Since then, another edition took place over one day on July 21, 2022 at the Seine Musicale in Paris, which had welcomed nearly 9,000 spectators. Suffice to say that it is with a big smile that Christian Estrosi, the mayor of Nice, is preparing to welcome this new edition which he sees as a symbol of the importance that his city has taken in the video game sector, as he explained it to Le Figaro a few days ago.
We know your passion for motorsports but what about Esports?Christian Estrosi: What I know about Esports is first and foremost what I’ve been following since we’ve been organizing meetings in Nice, where I see extremely strong enthusiasm. What I see of it is to have children who take part in it every day. And obviously, through my role, I also see that this is a job-creating sector that I follow closely. So much so that I went to Canada to obtain the approval of ISART Digital in order to open a school of Esport and video games at the start of the next school year in Nice. Today, the video game universe is clearly a behemoth of the cultural industry in France, it is even the best-selling cultural asset. It would therefore be a mistake on my part not to follow this sector of our economy with interest.
The world of video games has also seen its image evolve over time, even if some still denounce the violence or the risk of isolation of young people behind their screens…Yes, you know, when you’re in politics, you’re used to there are always critics, and there is no reason for the video game sector to be spared. Nevertheless, the rise of Esport has changed mentalities, especially in terms of desocialization. The competitive aspect developed by Esport, in particular through games that are played more and more by teams, has changed this state of affairs. This created an esprit de corps, of solidarity, where, as on a sports field, you know that you cannot be too fallible vis-à-vis your teammates. It is also extremely tactical because it is a question of weakening the opposing camp, which requires communication, mutual aid. In terms of physical and mental development, there is also a policy implemented by the entire sector which seems to me much healthier than the one we experienced at a certain time, in the early 2000s.
Nice already organized the LFL Days in February 2022, an event which was a real success at the time. We have the feeling that you want to impose the city as a pioneer from an events point of view in this sector… Yes, it is perhaps also linked to the fact that the city has always been very advanced in the news sector technologies by organizing the Smart City. We have always said that being an industrial base for many players in this field – I am thinking of Schneider Electric, IBM, Cisco, Bosch and others who are our partners –, this could not that make us want to be pioneers in the world of Esport. And to come back to the 2022 edition, it was clearly a success. We managed to bring more than 10,000 participants, including 7,000 who did not come from our region but from elsewhere in France or even in the world. At one point, in February 2022, when we were just emerging from the health crisis with still gauges, we were still sold out. This brings real added value in terms of hotel reservations, consumption in restaurants, in shops, with customers who sometimes have a certain purchasing power…
Until now, Esport events such as these LFL Days or more recently the Major on Counter Strike organized at the AccorArena in Paris, have been a success in terms of audience, but also in terms of atmosphere… Yes, we have seen in Bercy with the victory of the French team Vitality that there could be a form of patriotism, as can be seen on a sports field. The atmosphere in the stands was very similar to that which can be found in so-called traditional sports venues with songs for example, but all in a very decent climate, with a lot of dignity, without the bad atmosphere that we found too often in football stadiums. And audience level, it is also a considerable advantage. For example, when I organize a stage of the Tour de France in Nice, I have on television channels 40 to 50 million viewers in the world who will follow the competition. But it’s a very heavy event to organize in terms of security, the occupation of public space… However, you organize an Esport competition and you have as many spectators in the world thanks to the platforms in a restricted place and easier to structure. So for Nice, which has always wanted to be at the forefront of innovation, I believe that we have hit the mark by positioning ourselves on the subject.
We actually have the impression that organizing an Esport event is rather simple, in particular due to the absence of excesses… No, it’s not easy to organize. Admittedly, there are fewer processes and it’s easier to manage security and mobility. Nevertheless, to create the conditions capable of satisfying the organizer so that he can say to himself that the city is up to the task and worthy of hosting an event of this order, it naturally takes work, a lot of work. But Nice is not just any city in the world. When the International Ironman Federation (triathlon) decides, after 40 years spent in Hawaii to organize its World Championships, decides to change air, it turns to Nice. This name matters. Ditto when the Tour de France cannot end in 2024 on the Champs-Élysées because of the Games, it is to Nice that we turn. Suddenly, when the organizers of the LFL Days looked for a city to host their event, they immediately thought of Nice and that’s good. We have this reputation for excellence, and it is good that we are reaping the benefits and the fruits of it.
Beyond the sporting aspect, there is also a strong economic and industrial attraction to positioning oneself in this sector. Can Nice and its region become a sort of French and European Silicon Valley in terms of video games? All that goes hand in hand with the industrial dimension, that’s for sure. Nice relies on two economic pillars. The first is tourism, and not just any tourism, because we want to welcome lifestyle, cultural and high-level event tourism. And the second is industrial, which is based on high technologies and health. To talk about high technologies, inevitably, the great schools that go hand in hand with them decide to settle nearby because this facilitates the gateways with companies and qualifying training. Hence the arrival of ISARD in Nice with very significant investments in terms of real estate to have a school that reflects the quality of the sector. When you graduate from ISARD, in the video game sector, it’s a very high level, a reference.
On the political level, Emmanuel Macron also insisted a lot on the development of Esport in France. Somehow, we can say that he took your wheel…I think it’s good to have a modern president, who has an avant-garde vision on the subject. As on other subjects, this is also why I support him in his action. The former top athlete that I am, but also the former Minister of Industry that I am sharing the same vision as the President of the Republic. It is good if there is a visionary president in France, as well as an equally visionary mayor of Nice at the head of his city. It’s perfect when it “matches”.
