author: Angelika Kaldus
First Virtual Olympics Before Tokyo Games Announced
The International Olympic Committee has announced the first virtual Olympics to be held before the Tokyo Games. Participants in five disciplines will compete against each other between May 13 and June 23.
- The International Olympic Committee is organizing a virtual Olympics from May 13 to June 23;
- The competition will be held in 5 disciplines: rowing, sailing, racing, cycling and baseball;
- In theory, any person who meets the equipment requirements will be able to participate, but the registration or elimination issues are not yet known.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced the organization of the first-ever virtual Olympics. The online competition will take place from May 13 to June 23, one month before the Tokyo Olympics begin. Participants will compete against each other in 5 simulators: sailing, rowing, racing, cycling, and baseball. We already know most of the games in which the international audience will see them.
The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) will organize the championship in eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020 from Konami Digital Entertainment, the International Cycling Union will prepare the games in collaboration with Zwift, and sailors will sail on the waters of Virtual Regatta. Most interestingly, racing will take place in Gran Turismo (the Committee doesn't say which game), a very well-known title from Polyphony Digital, a studio owned by Sony Computer Entertainment. The only game yet to be revealed on the IOC website is the rowing simulator.
The Virtual Olympics will be unusual in that anyone with the right hardware and software will be able to participate - but it's unclear if there will be any qualifiers and what the registration process will look like. According to Olympic Channel's statement, the competition will take different forms, depending on the decisions of international sports federations or companies that provide specific simulators. More detailed information about the competition and the prizes will soon appear on the organizers' website.