The International Olympic Committee has made its first move into esports with the creation of the Olympic Virtual Series, a set of events that is Olympically-licensed for both "physical and non-physical virtual sports."
Set to begin on May 13 and run all the way up until June 23, around a month before the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Virtual Series will span over five different titles and sports, and will be in a "format that maximises online mass participation and prioritises inclusivity and participation", meaning anyone can compete from their own home.
The five events will be played on various titles and will be run by their respective publishers. They will be:
- World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) - eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020, Konami Digital Entertainment
- Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) - Zwift, Zwift inc.
- World Rowing - Open format
- World Sailing - Virtual Regatta, Virtual Regatta SAS
- Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) - Gran Turismo, Polyphony Digital
The prizing and details on how to participate is all set to be revealed soon, so make sure to keep an eye out for that if you intend to participate.
"The Olympic Virtual Series is a new, unique Olympic digital experience that aims to grow direct engagement with new audiences in the field of virtual sports," said Tomas Bach, IOC president. "Its conception is in line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and the IOC's Digital Strategy. It encourages sports participation and promotes the Olympic values, with a special focus on youth."
In the future, FIFA (football), FIBA (basketball), ITF (tennis), and WT (taekwondo) are hoping to be able to expand and join in on the initiative, and have "confirmed their excitement and commitment to exploring inclusion in future editions of the OVS."
