IOC Confirms First-Ever Olympic Esports Week in June 2023
Esports taking another step up the ladder.
Cover-Credits:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that the inaugural Olympic Esports Week (OEW) will take place in Singapore between 22nd to 25th June 2023.
"The announcement marks the next major step in supporting the development of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement and engaging further with competitive gamers," reads a statement by IOC in the official press release.
Olympic Esports Week will be hosted in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Sport Singapore, and the Singapore National Olympic Committee (SNOC).
This four day festival will showcase "hybrid physical and simulated sports" along with exhibits about the latest technologies, panel discussions, education sessions, and show matches.
Singapore to host inaugural Olympic Esports Week in June 2023
The IOC has given a green light to the Olympic Esports Week which is scheduled to take place in Singapore next year. It will feature the first in-person live finals of the Olympic Esports Series (OES), which is a global virtual and simulated sports competition that has been created in collaboration with the International Federations and builds on the success of its predecessor Olympic Virtual Series (OVS).
Speaking on the announcement, Thomas Bach - President of IOC, said that "The first Olympic Esports Week marks an important milestone in our ambition to support the growth of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement. We believe the exciting new format of our virtual sports competition, with live finals to be staged for the first time, is an opportunity to collaborate further with esports players and to create new opportunities for players and fans alike."
Last year, the OVS had attracted more than 250,000 participants from over 100 countries to take part in virtual and simulated sport competitions like baseball, motorsport, cycling, rowing, and sailing.
As for the OEW and OES, not a lot of information other than the location and dates have been revealed by the IOC, with details about how teams or players can participate in it is planned for release in early 2023.
