The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has announced that the qualification for the Olympic Esports Series 2023 has begun. The series is a virtual sports event created by the IOC in collaboration with official sports federations.
Nine sports will be represented this year, including games such as Gran Turismo and Just Dance. Professional and amateur players from around the world are invited to participate in the qualification for each event starting today. The finals will take place from June 22 to 25 live on-site at the Suntec Centre in Singapore and will be streamed on Olympics.com and the Olympic Games social media channels.
A Total of 9 Events
Nine events and games have been confirmed for this year's series, along with the official sports federations collaborating and the date of the start of qualification for each event: Archery (World Archery Federation), Baseball (World Baseball Softball Confederation), Chess (International Chess Federation), Cycling (UCI), DanceSport (World DanceSport Federation), Motorsport (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), Sailing (World Sailing), Taekwondo (World Taekwondo) and Tennis (International Tennis Federation).
The qualification process for each game will be different, with information available on the official Olympic Esports Series website. Qualification for Gran Turismo 7 will take place on a specially crafted Olympic Esports Series track, available in-game from April 13, challenging players to set their best time in an online time trial.
The Olympic Esports Series 2023 is the next step in "promoting the development of virtual sports within the Olympic Movement", according to the IOC. Already in 2021 the first Olympic Virtual Series took place, held prior to the Olympic Games in Tokyo and encompassing five disciplines, including baseball and motorsport.
