Olympic Esports Series 2023: IOC Announces the Global Virtual and Simulated Sports Event, Finals Set for June 22 in Singapore

The International Olympic Committee or IOC has just announced the arrival of Olympic Esports Series 2023. The upcoming competition will take place on a global scale virtually, and it will be held by IOC in partnership with International Federations and game publishers.

Olympic Esports Series 2023 is an evolved format of IOC's earlier announced virtual competition, Olympic Virtual Series. The former series took place in 2021 and it featured around 250,000 participants across 100 countries.

The Olympics Esports Series will see participation from Esports athletes in 9 featured games. This includes:

• Archery: Players will need a stable internet connection, a mobile device and Tic Tac Bow downloaded on their iOS or Android device. Qualifications begin from April 1.
• Baseball: Players will need a stable internet connection, a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch and have to download WBSC eBASEBALL: POWER PROS. Qualifying rounds will begin first in Japan on March 13, 2023, and then globally by March 31.
• Chess: The International Chess Federation and Chess.com will be coming together for the first time to host this event. Players can use a PC, iOS or an Android device with stable internet connection for this one. Qualifying rounds begin from March 20.
• Cycling: Virtual cycling will be done through popular virtual cycling hub, Zwift, which can be downloaded on iOS or Android devices. The top 16 players (8 male and 8 female) will participate in a new event format for the finals.
• Dance: World DanceSport Federation and Just Dance partner up for the first time for this event. Just Dance is available across PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S and Nintendo Switch.
• Sailing: Players will need a stable internet connection and an iOS or Android device to download Virtual Regatta. The qualification for this competition in collaboration with World Sailing will begin on March 17.
• Motor Sport: FIA and Gran Turismo collaborate for this event. Players will need a PlayStation 4 or the PlayStation 5 and have Gran Turismo 7 downloaded. Qualifications for this event will begin on April 13.
• Taekwondo: This event comes from a collaboration between World Taekwondo and Refract Technologies. Through the collaboration, we receive an innovate virtual taekwondo game which incorporates motion-tracking. Virtual Taekwondo is an invitational event and 16 of the best athletes from past and present will be called upon to participate in the finals.
• Tennis: Tennis Clash and International Tennis Federation come together to bring this event for Olympic Esports Series 2023. Players will need a stable internet connection and an iOS or Android device with Tennis Clash downloaded to take part.

Once qualifications for all the games are finished, players will get the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Esports Finals 2023. The finals is set to take place between June 22 to June 25 at Suntec Centre, Singapore. This will be an in-person event, so players will have the thrill of fighting for the elusive medals in front of a live audience.

Here's what David Lappartient, Chair of the IOC Esports Liaison Group had to share on Olympic Esports Series 2023:

“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.”