The Organising Committee of the FISU World Forum held a face-to-face meeting in Hungary earlier this week ©University of Physical Education

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach is to speak at the Opening Ceremony of this year's International University Sports Federation (FISU) World Forum, which is being held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

World Forum organisers held a face-to-face meeting at the University of Physical Education in Budapest in Hungary earlier this week, where they were joined by representatives of the Hungarian University Sports Federation (HUSF) and representatives of its Digital Success Programme who revealed details of the role that esports would play within the event.

Ancic-Valkai announced that Bach would speak during the virtual Opening Ceremony, alongside the Hungarian Secretary of Sports Tünde Szabó.

Szabó won a silver medal in the women's 100 metres backstroke at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.

A FISU spokesperson told insidethegames that  1169 people have so far registered, with around 1500 expected.

Of the current registrations, about 50 per cent are students, 40 per cent are National University Sports Federation officials and 10 per cent are other members of the FISU family. 

Around 90 countries are represented in the registrations.

DSP representative Ferenc Dénes told organisers that the event’s esports schedule had been finalised, with participants able to play FIFA20 online and take part in mind sports.

It was noted during the meeting that interest in the Virtual Expo was increasing.

The FISU Healthy Campus project is among the areas that are being focused on as part of the FISU World Forum ©FISU
The FISU Healthy Campus project is among the areas that are being focused on as part of the FISU World Forum ©FISU

Preparations are still continuing ahead of the event, scheduled to run from August 12 to 14, with the list of lecturers still to be finalised.

Although the programme for the three days has been confirmed it has not yet been released publicly.

During her speech, Ancic-Valkai highlighted a few areas of the programme that stood out to her - the FISU Healthy Campus scheme and planned workshops focusing on the challenges in university sport in relation to digitalisation and the International Day of University Sport.

"I am absolutely convinced that both the esports and the mind sports sections will attract a lot of visitors," said Ancic-Valkai.

"The Budapest virtual sightseeing tour is also one of a kind. 

"I would like to emphasise that, unlike real conferences, the forum will be entirely interactive, and participants can contribute a lot at the plenary sessions and workshops. 

"The main point is that people will have a chance to discuss issues."

Registration for the event remains open until the first day of the forum.

The registration process can be completed here