During the last Olympic Games in the summer of 2021 in Tokyo, the International Olympic Committee set up the Olympic Virtual Series. This competition, which was in its infancy and organised by DreamHack, laid the foundation for esports to appear at the Olympics.
After the successful Olympic Virtual Series, held between May and June 2021 in conjunction with the Tokyo Olympics, the International Olympic Committee remains committed to the esports community. For instance, Singapore will host the first Olympic Esports Week in 2023 from 22 to 25 June.
Une bonne nouvelle pour les Gamers ! 🎮
C’est désormais officiel, la 1ère Olympic Esports Week se tiendra à Singapour en juin prochain. 👏#OlympicEsports pic.twitter.com/C8rQ8ABWQB— Jeux Olympiques (@jeuxolympiques) November 16, 2022
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach explains more about this move: “The first Olympic Esports Week is an important step in our ambition to support the growth of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement. We believe that the exciting new format of our virtual competition, with live finals being held for the first time, is an opportunity to further collaborate with esports players and create new opportunities for players and fans.”
The most popular esports of the moment, such as League of Legends, CS:GO, Valorant or R6, are unlikely to be featured. The aim is to include games closer to the Olympics. More information about the competitions will be announced in early 2023.
Players of the world! Are you ready?
Singapore will host the first Olympic Esports Week. #OlympicEsports pic.twitter.com/p50CzE9mlo— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) November 16, 2022
The Singapore venue is far from insignificant, IOC vice president Ng Ser Miang explained: “Singapore’s NOC shares the Olympic Movement’s ambitions to explore the development of virtual sports. Singapore has a reputation for successfully hosting some of the biggest events on the virtual sports and esports calendar – we are honoured to work with the IOC to bring this shared vision to life.”
Games like FIFA, NBA2K or Virtual Regatta seem like ideal candidates for the virtual competitions. In any case, this announcement is great news for esports development. Fans can therefore look forward to future announcements in early 2023.