Video Gamers unite. The Electronic Sports World Cup, held in Paris last year, will be hosted by San Jose in 2008.

"This is like hosting the Olympics of video games, so we are very excited," said Dan Fenton, Team San Jose CEO. "As the Capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose is the perfect backdrop for this global event."

The 2007 Electronic Sports World Cup was held in Paris. Video Gamers from 50 nations and an attendance exceeding 5,00 are expected when San Jose hosts the 2008 Electronic Sports World Cup.

Team San Jose  and the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau, which together market to conventions and run the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and Cultural Facilities has been selected to host the 6th edition of the 2008 Electronic Sports World Cup, August 25-28. The event, a world-wide video game championships, in which teams from 50 countries compete, is produced by Games-Services, a media and production company specializing in electronic sports, video games and digital leisure. More than 5,000 are expected to attend the competition, including 800 champions Gamers, from all around the world, competing for top titles. The Electronic Sports World Cup Grand Final will be staged in three different locations in San Jose: the Civic Auditorium, Parkside Hall and the Center For Performing Arts. While it is the first time the city hosts this event—the 2007 Electronic Sports World Cup was held in Paris—due to this destination’s high-tech reputation, San Jose is excited about hosting an event that will feature thousands attendees and the best of the best Gamers! "This is like hosting the Olympics of video games, so we are very excited," said Dan Fenton, Team San Jose CEO. "As the Capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose is the perfect backdrop for this global event."

When Video Gamers from around the world descend on San Jose for the 2008 Electronic Sports World Cup, one of the venues utilized for the event is the Center for the Performing Arts, which features continental design (no center aisle) auditorium seating for 2,665.

The 2008 Electronic Sports World Cup will require three venues when it comes to San Jose in August, including the Parkside Hall, which features 30,000 square feet of unobstructed exhibit space, 24-foot open ceilings and teak parquet floors, and it can accommodate banquets of up to 1,800 people.

Built in 1936, the Civic Auditorium is a Spanish Mission-style, dual-level auditorium that hosts a variety of events including concerts, performing arts, general assembly, community and sporting events. The auditorium features 3,001 seats in concert form and four meeting rooms. It is one of the host venues for the 2008 Electronic Sports World Cup.