Mumbai : ESPN will launch a mega sports quiz show, ESPN School Quiz Olympiad, on December 26 that will be aired on weekdays from Tuesdays to Fridays, at 6 pm and 11 pm. The 61-episodes programme will be hosted by Harsha Bhogle and involve a prize money of Rs 8.5 lakh to the `All India' winners. While 52 episodes will be on the zonal basis, the balance nine will be at the national level competition. "We will give the money to the school for developing sports facilities. We will make follow-up visits to the school to look into the implementation of the prize money," said ESPN Software India managing director Manu Sawhney.While the winner will get Rs 5 lakh, the national semi final winners will get Rs 2 lakh. An amount of Rs 1 lakh per team will be given for zonal winners and Rs 50,000 for zonal semi final winners.
The individual members along with their teacher will get an opportunity to be flown to a major international sporting event of their choice - European Cup finals, Wimbledon, Formula 1, Cricket or NBA that is featured on ESPN.The School Quiz Olympiad will invite 108 schools, representing 15 top population centres around, the country to participate in the on-air quiz programme. The selection has been from 500 schools which participated in the qualifying on-ground sports quiz events held in various cities across the country.
The finals will feature a medals ceremony with the teams getting gold, silver or bronze medals.
The format of the show is based on the Olympics games motto `Citius Altius Fortius' - faster, higher, stronger. The quiz will test the speed of recall and reaction of their participants, their depth of knowledge in various sports and their strength and resolve to win.
"We want to build this property and carry it forward each year," said Mr Sawhney.
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