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Elite sporting events are still largely closed to the world, but July 2020 has been an unprecedented month for the global sports calendar thanks to the world’s first Virtual Tour de France, which, despite the name, was not based on nowhere in particular, as cyclists took part of their homes in all parts of the world.
It’s historic, not only because the event brought together the world of sports cycling and the iconic and grueling race – this was also the first time that women competed on a multi-stage Tour.
There were some key differences. Rather than being an individual race, it was raced in teams, was much shorter than the actual Tour and, most importantly, involved riders sitting on their indoor bikes connected to the Zwift virtual cycling system. However, for the public tuning in through YouTube, it’s easy to mistake it for a real broadcast of a road race, as the graphics emulate the physical map and terrain of the route. Even the transmitted comment was similar.
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The Tour is the latest in a whole range of digital innovations that have brought the sport to the homes of millions of people during the COVID-19 blockade when everyone had to press pause in their physical event programs.
However, the foundation for these experiments was laid in January, when the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, told all International Sports Federations to discover their e-sports strategy. The urgency is all the more apparent when you note that all of those sports sponsors, and broadcasters, are already aligning their brands with eSports.
Coca-Cola, Intel and Samsung, among many others, are already highly invested in electronic sports. David Beckham’s new company, Guild Esports, announced that it will establish a professional esports team for the 21st century version of soccer, Rocket League, a video game in which players race cars around an arena driving a ball towards a goal using the online platform Battlefy.
Practically the same
COVID-19 has accelerated the alignment of elite sports industries with eSports, and even those who previously dismissed eSports as not a real sport now have to contend with the IOC President. Bach noted that platforms like Zwift were absolutely equal to sports, suggesting a future where virtual sports could be a bigger part of the elite sports scene. It may not be a coincidence that the IOC Esports Liaison Group is chaired by the president of the International Union of Cyclists, David Lappartient.
Shortly after the shutdown began, sports were racing to get into virtual action. Among the first was Formula One, which was pushed to produce “Not the Australian Grand Prix” when his career in Melbourne was canceled. Partnering with Veloce Esports, F1’s first digital event used its official computer game to produce a unique experience, where players, F1 drivers, and celebrities came together to compete on the Australian track.
In the end, esports racer Daniel Bereznay took the checkered flag with former Dutch racing driver-turned-sim racer Jarno Opmeer in second place.
In April, the ATP and WTA organized an esports tennis competition in place of the Mutua Madrid Open, using the video game Nacon’s Tennis World Tour. Once again, some of the biggest names in the world came together to compete. Brit Andy Murray took the title.
Also in April, we saw the virtual Grand National for the fourth time. This year was special, since, thanks to COVID-19, there was no accompanying physical race. Instead, racing fans – and gamers – could tune into YouTube and watch a computer-generated horse race, all of which were expected as headlines for the actual race. The winner was decided before the starter pistol was fired, based on the pilot’s previous form, day conditions, among other factors.
This algorithm-based sport may not look much like a sport to many, but it worked. We can expect to see a significant amount of business generated by the gaming opportunities surrounding virtual sports.
Soccer was slow to return to the field, and many clubs began to experiment with innovations in the stadiums. By the time the players returned to the field, without spectators, some clubs had installed giant screens inside the stadium giving the impression of thousands of fans. Clubs also experimented with virtual reality to train players, and real-time canned audience sounds became part of a new language of television production.
The international basketball federation was next, producing the first international esports version of its sport in May using the NBA 2K game. While the game has not previously impressed players, it did well to bring new audiences to basketball at a time when no live events were taking place.
Finally, there have also been a plethora of eSports during the shutdown, occupying the space where many of these aspiring sports brands seek to locate. The games have had a very good crash: the data shows that sales and use of the games have grown significantly in 2020.
New ways to play
Lockdown brought eSports even further to the mainstream, including the BBC broadcast events on its digital platform. We also saw how the creative and cultural industries come together around esports titles. They highlighted the virtual concerts that took place in Fortnite, particularly the spectacular performance of American rapper Travis Scott, which could only be seen live if logged in as a player within Fortnite, prompting fans to download the title just to see the concert.
In the same way that social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are establishing new markets and audiences, eSports and sports virtualization show how new economies are emerging around new digital sports experiences through game platforms.
While many of the international sports federations’ COVID-19 eSports events have been more exhibition events than the elite competition, they have paved the way for a new normal to emerge, not only for participants, but also for many industries that produce media events.
Andy Miah, President of Science Communication & Future Media at the University of Salford, republishes this article from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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