Xbox partners with the Special Olympics to hold a virtual Forza Motorsport 7 event on May 30
11 US states will be represented with over 35 athletes taking part
Xbox and the Special Olympics US are partnering to hold a virtual Forza Motorsport 7 tournament that will be live-streamed on May 30.
Set to begin at 3pm ET / 12pm PT / 8pm BST and streamed on Xbox's official Mixer, Youtube, and Twitch channels, 11 US states will be represented with over 35 athletes taking part.
"With athletic training and competitions currently postponed due to COVID-19, Special Olympics is looking for new ways to connect, compete, and just have fun," the official press release for the event states. "Enveloping this event will be stories of the athletes themselves - allowing a broad fanbase to know who they are, what they care about, how they are feeling - and cheer them on as they discover new community and excitement in playing Forza Motorsport 7."
We're excited to announce the 2020 Special Olympics @Xbox Virtual Gaming Event featuring @ForzaMotorsport, in partnership with @Microsoft! More about the event, helping to keep our athletes connected during these times: https://t.co/TnHwpfi7aL #ChooseToInclude #XboxSOgaming pic.twitter.com/cYbnFiAKjnMay 21, 2020
The event is part of the Special Olympics efforts to adapt and look for innovative ways to support its athletes during "stay-at-home-orders". Microsoft and the Special Olympics have been working together since 2014, "with the goal of empowering Special Olympics athletes and programs through technology." After the Forza Motorsport 7 tournament, an awards ceremony will be taking place in Minecraft in celebration of the event's participants.
With the impact of the coronavirus affecting many events and shows, many organizations and companies have taken to holding virtual events instead. The awards ceremony in Minecraft is such a great way to bring people together to celebrate as the event wraps up in lieu of a real ceremony.
Minecraft has been helping people around the world celebrate milestone events such as graduations in recent months, and it'll surely be a wonderful way to bring the Special Olympics tournament to a close.
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I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.