The International 2021 will require all those in attendance to be vaccinated

The annual Dota 2 championship and one of the biggest esports events in the world, The International 2021, is getting closer, and Valve is making sure that everything goes as smooth as possible.

The event will be organized in collaboration with PGL, a renowned esports events production company from Romania with almost two decades of experience.

Tickets for the live audience at the main event in Bucharest, Romania will go on sale on 22nd September 2021 and Valve doesn't want to leave any loose ends when it comes to safety measures and COVID-19 precautions, and one of the requirements in order to attend the main event will be proof of vaccination.

Mandatory vaccination required for The International 2021 attendees

On Thursday, 16th September, Valve revealed the first details about the main event and live audience.

Valve has revealed that "after careful consideration", the tickets will go on sale starting 22nd September 2021.

"Please note that our efforts to keep this event safe for all involved include some additional requirements for those who choose to attend," Valve added. "As we aim to bring the community together both in person and virtually to finally watch the best teams in the world battle it out for the Aegis of Champions."

These additional requirements are as follows:

• All attendees of the live event must be fully vaccinated and masked.
• Additional protocols will be in place in an effort to keep everyone at the event as safe as possible.
• Attendees must check for any rules and restrictions specific to their city/country of origin. 

This marks the first LAN esports event since the start of the pandemic that will require everyone involved, from participants to production and audience, to be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they intend to attend the event.

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Doubling down on this decision, PGL CEO, Silviu Stroie, stated that all upcoming PGL events in 2022 will require attendees to be vaccinated.

I firmly believe the only way to bring back massive LAN events is to require complete vaccination of attending players, talent, spectators. This will be a requirement for all upcoming PGL 2022 events.

— Silviu Stroie (@ssilviu) September 17, 2021

"I firmly believe the only way to bring back massive LAN events is to require complete vaccination of attending players, talent, spectators," Silviu wrote. "This will be a requirement for all upcoming PGL 2022 events."

PGL still hasn't revealed their schedule for 2022, but they are known for collaborating with many video game publishers and producing tournaments across various esports titles at the premier level of competition, and this decision will undoubtedly have an effect on many communities.

And it is definitely the right move, as we all miss live LAN events and the unparalleled experience that comes with them, events we can't wait to return and become a norm again. And the only way for that to happen is to finally beat COVID-19.

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The International 2021 was originally planned to be held in Sweden but Valve has encountered difficulties due to the fact that esports isn't recognized as sports legally in Sweden, which resulted in Sweden's Minister of the Interior failing to provide The International 10 the same exemptions as other top-tier sporting events have received during the pandemic.

Eventually, due to not having guarantees that the event will be held in Sweden, Valve reacted quickly and choose Bucharest as the new location for the TI 2021.

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Feature image courtesy of Valve.