Microsoft, Special Olympics to host Xbox virtual gaming event

Special Olympics, Microsoft and Xbox have come together to organise a gaming tournament that fans can watch live streamed on May 30.

Fans can look forward to watching live streamed Forza Motorsport 7 racing on Mixer, Xbox YouTube or Twitch. This is thanks to a partnership between Microsoft, Special Olympics and Xbox. There will be a first-ever Special Olympics award ceremony on the gaming platform Minecraft.

The tournament is on 30 May. “We’re partnering with the Special Olympics to keep athletes connected and maintain the joy of sports, using the power of Xbox,” tweeted Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft.

Special Olympics reaches out to disabled kids & youth

Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities. It provides year-round training and activities to five million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. The Special Olympics organisation is recognised by the International Olympic Committee. The Special Olympics World Games is a major event put on by the Special Olympics.

Phil Spencer, Head, Xbox, said it is a great partnership with the Special Olympics team to bring gaming to the 2020 Special Olympics. In a statement he said he was “incredibly proud of all the teams that are making this possible and can’t wait to see the Olympians running some fast laps,”.

In 2018, Xbox hosted the first video gaming tournament at a Special Olympics event during the Special Olympics USA Games held in Seattle, United States. “This year, Microsoft and Special Olympics are teaming up for the 2020 Special Olympics Xbox Virtual Gaming Event featuring Turn 10 Studios’ Forza Motorsport 7,” said Xbox in a statement.

Using tech to empower disabled athletes

Eleven states across the US will be represented in this year’s event. Over 35 athletes will take part.

Microsoft and Special Olympics have been working together since 2014 with the goal of empowering Special Olympics athletes and programmes through technology. During this partnership, technologies such as Xbox and Microsoft Teams have been used tools to bring adults and children with intellectual disabilities together in the face of a host of obstacles.

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• Special Olympics Bharat is enabling kids with intellectual disabilities to become sports champs