The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday announced the launch of the Olympic Esports Series 2023, a global virtual and simulated sports competition created in collaboration with International Federations (IFs) and game publishers.
The Olympic Esports Series 2023 will involve both professional and amateur players from around the world, who are invited to take part in qualification rounds across a host of the featured games.
The initially confirmed featured games are from nine sports — Archery (Tic Tac Bow), Baseball (WBSC eBASEBALL: POWER PROS), Chess (Chess.com), Cycling (Zwift), Dance (JustDance), Motorsport (Gran Turismo), Sailing (Virtual Regatta), Taekwondo (Virtual Taekwondo) and Tennis (Tennis Clash).
Coming together in Singapore for this unique competition, the players will compete in front of fans for the prestigious title of Olympic Esports Series winner. The thrilling finals action will be streamed globally across Olympics.com and Olympic social channels, the IOC informed in a release on Wednesday.
This evolved format of the IOC’s virtual competition builds on the successes of the Olympic Virtual Series. The 2021 series, which took place ahead of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, attracted over 250,000 participants from across 100 countries to take part in competitions.
The Olympic Esports Series 2023 marks another step in supporting the development of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement, as laid out in Olympic Agenda 2020+5, and continues its collaboration with the gaming and esports communities to create new opportunities for players and fans alike.
Speaking at the announcement, David Lappartient, Chair of the IOC Esports Liaison Group, said: “The Olympic Movement brings people together in peaceful competition. The Olympic Esports Series 2023 is a continuation of that, with the ambition of creating more spaces to play for both players and fans of elite competition.
We look forward to witnessing some of the world’s best compete on the global stage, as well as exploring together shared opportunities and lessons – across health and wellbeing, training and innovation,” he was quoted as saying in the release.
This follows the recent announcement that Singapore will host the first Olympic Esports Week 2023. Created in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Sport Singapore and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), the four-day festival will showcase the very best of virtual sports — including technology exhibitions, show matches, expert panel discussions, and the first live finals of the Olympic Esports Series. The full programme and ticket details for the Olympic Esports Week 2023 will be revealed in April.