In this interview with Kit McConnell, Sports Director at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), we deep dive into the new initiative launched by the IOC, the Olympic Virtual Series (OVS). Read on the interview to learn more about why the IOC decided to launch such an initiative, what were some of the objectives they achieved, how the Olympic Movement stakeholders can leverage this trend, and what’s next for the IOC and the OVS.
1. The Olympic Virtual Series took place right before this year’s Olympic Games. How did the IOC arrive at the point of launching such an experiment?
This is the result of a multi-year process that started back in 2015 when we started researching the world of gaming & esports. Since then we have been actively consulting with the wider Olympic Movement and the esports community to understand the ecosystem, our potential role in it, and the opportunities that we could tap into. Some of the initiatives include the IOC Esports Summit in 2018, the Intel activation at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and three annual Olympic Summits that touched on the topic. In 2021, the pace quickened when Olympic Agenda 2020 + 5 included esports as a strategic priority for the IOC and the Olympic Movement.
In the last years, there has also been increased activity by all stakeholders in the Olympic Movement around esports. IFs, NOCs, RHBs, and TOP sponsors have all been active in esports, launching events, initiatives, consultative groups, and starting to partner with the esports world. This signaled our collective preparation for such an initiative.
This proved to be the “perfect storm” with the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 also presenting space to engage in a new way with fans. With the lack of traditional activation opportunities for our partners, we saw the OVS as a natural evolution of the inventory of activations that the IOC and its partners can provide.
From the esports & gaming world, we continue to be encouraged by the positive feedback and consultation with different stakeholders who see a win-win from working together.
2. What were/are the objectives of the IOC from launching such a property?
We had three primary objectives.
The first was to experiment and learn. OVS is an innovative way for the Olympic brand to enter into the growing esports, gaming & metaverse economies. We needed to learn what works and what does not work with fans, we needed to learn how to build the right partnership framework around it and also how to build the internal processes for it. The biggest learning was to understand how fundamentally different stakeholders should collaborate on such projects. They all have a common vision but different motivations to arriving there.
The second objective was digital engagement. Increasingly, fans want to take part in the telling of the story of sports. The traditional consumption methods for sports, of just receiving content, are slowly dissolving to be replaced with active engagement. By launching OVS we are able to respond to this shift and provide Olympic fans over the world with innovative and attractive Olympic products and experiences in the digital world.
The third objective was to bring to life the 9th recommendation of Olympic Agenda 2020 + 5; to encourage the development of virtual sports and further engage with video gaming communities by leveraging the growing popularity of virtual sport to promote the Olympic Movement, Olympic values, sports participation and grow direct relations with youth. The OVS is not the endpoint but rather a continuation of the multi-year process we have been on and will continue to focus on going forward.
3. How can the Olympic Movement stakeholders leverage this first step by the IOC?
One of the IOC’s roles is to generate value on behalf of the Olympic Movement, and by creating this new property, we are rebalancing the ecosystem of sports & esports in favor of a co-creation approach. The OVS has been positively received by Olympic stakeholders and many want to learn more about it and how to leverage it. International Federations and National Olympic Committees are ready to experiment with esports & gaming a bit more now that we have taken a collective step together. Needless to say, our role is to help them take their first steps while crafting the long-term direction for our engagement. This is not an easy task, which is why it is important to think about the work ahead as a collective effort with traditional Olympic stakeholders but also new partners.
“One of the IOC’s roles is to generate value on behalf of the Olympic Movement, and by creating this new property, we are rebalancing the ecosystem of sports & esports in favour of a co-creation approach.”
4. Did it achieve your objectives? What were the overall results of this edition of the OVS?
From the leadership & membership perspective, we got positive feedback from the IOC Executive Board as well as the IOC Session. From our partners, we have also gained insights into their preferred way of activating these types of initiatives within their overall commitment to the Olympic Movement.
From a purely numerical perspective, 242,000 individuals participated in the OVS with an average of 8 participation sessions per individual. This shows the reach & engagement of Olympic-related properties. We are keen on extending this beyond a once-in-an-Olympiad initiative to a more regular one, and are putting our heads together with all of our partners to think of the road ahead.
It is clear that there is opportunity in the esports & gaming worlds for sports properties such as the IOC. The OVS confirmed this for us, and we want to capitalize on this first successful experiment.
5. Where to next? How do you see the evolution of the OVS in the next months and years?
The road ahead looks very exciting and promising. We are currently working and thinking about opportunities for Paris 2024 and LA 2028, working on strengthening the ‘ongoing celebration of Olympism’ between Games, exploring the feasibility around the frequency of the event and consulting with all Olympic Movement stakeholders.
In order to make this happen and bring this to life we are building a new unit within the IOC that will be charged with the responsibility of propelling us forward in this domain. This Virtual Sports and Gaming unit is taking shape with key recruits expected in the coming months. This will reinforce our commitment to the Olympic Movement and to the esports & gaming communities that the Olympic journey will continue in this space for years to come.