Inaugural Olympic Esports Week to feature JustDance, Gran Turismo 7

Nine sports have been confirmed for the first Olympic Esports Week that will be held in Singapore from Jun 22 to 25.

They are archery, baseball, chess, cycling, dance, motorsport, sailing, taekwondo and tennis, announced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday (Mar 1).

Fans of the Olympic Esports Series can look forward to the return of racing on Gran Turismo 7, cycling on Zswift, baseball on POWER PROS and sailing on Virtual Regatta.

Other sports that will take the stage are taekwondo, with a motion-tracked Virtual Taekwondo game by Refract Technologies and World Taekwondo, and tennis, with an online multiplayer from Wildlife Studios and the International Tennis Federation.

IOC also unveiled the Local Organising Committee and Steering Committee for the Olympic Esports Week 2023. 

The Local Organising Committee will be co-chaired by two-time Olympian and former national swimmer Mark Chay and Roy Teo, chief of industry development, technology and innovation group of Sport Singapore. 

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong and Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) President Tan Chuan-Jin will serve as advisors to the Steering Committee. 

The co-chairs of the Steering Committee consist of IOC Vice President Ng Ser Miang and Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan. 

It was announced last year that Singapore would host the inaugural Olympic Esports Week, which will include the exhibition of the latest technologies, panel discussions, education sessions and show matches, from 22 to 25 Jun at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The qualifying rounds for the featured games began on Mar 1, with professional and amateur players from around the world invited to take part. 

“The Olympic Movement brings people together in peaceful competition,” said David Lappartient, chair of the IOC Esports liaison group.

“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.”

Fans can visit the Olympic website to receive details on any future additions of featured games across sports to the ongoing competition. 

The competition finals will be streamed globally across the Olympic’s social media platforms and website.