ESports
IOC to host first-ever Olympic Esports Week in June 2023
The IOC will host the first-ever Olympic Esports Week from 22nd June 2023 to 25th June 2023 in Singapore.
Once upon a time, video games were looked upon as a pastime or a hobby. Now, things have become far more professional.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), on Wednesday, announced that it will host the first-ever Olympic Esports Week from 22nd June 2023 to 25th June 2023 in Singapore. This is seen as a major step towards the inclusion of esports in the Olympic movement.
"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," IOC President Thomas Bach was quoted as saying in a release.
"It is a perfect opportunity to be partnering with Singapore, which has a history of supporting innovation in the Olympic Movement, hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010, so we are looking forward to working together closely," Bach added.
The first-ever Olympic Esports Week will display the best of virtual sports with the four-day festival including exhibition of latest technologies, panel discussions, educational sessions and exhibition matches.
The Olympic Esports Week will also see the first in-person live finals of the Olympic Esports Series played out.
The four-day event will be held in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Community of Youth, Sport Singapore and the Singapore National Olympic Committee (SNOC).
Further details regarding how to be a part of the Olympic Esports Week and the Olympic Esports Series is expected to be revealed in early 2023.
