For the fifth straight year, the most popular health & fitness festival celebrating peak human condition will take place at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. The Arnold Sports Festival features 10,000 athletes from various sports and disciplines, coming in basically from every corner of the world.
Get to see the most well-built men & women, hundreds of brands specialising in health & fitness, and of course, the Terminator himself: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
History
What began as a one-day professional bodybuilding competition in Columbus, Ohio in 1989 has grown into the world’s largest multi-sport fitness weekend, with four days of sports competitions, demonstrations, seminars, entertainment and the latest fitness products.
The Arnold Sports Festival story dates to 1970, when Columbus sports promoter Jim Lorimer invited a young Austrian bodybuilder named Arnold Schwarzenegger to Columbus to compete in the Mr. World contest that was accompanying that year’s World Weightlifting Championships.
Schwarzenegger won the contest, earned $1,000 and vowed to return to Columbus one day to partner with Lorimer and promote the sport of bodybuilding. After winning the Mr. Olympia contest every year between 1970-1975, Schwarzenegger was true to his word.
Schwarzenegger and Lorimer promoted the Mr. Olympia contest in Columbus six times between 1976 and 1986 before founding the Arnold Classic in 1989.
When Schwarzenegger was appointed the chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, he charged Lorimer to expand the scope of the Arnold Classic weekend to include other sports. Martial Arts and gymnastics were among the first added.
More events have been added each year and the weekend was renamed the Arnold Sports Festival in 2006. In 2019, more than 80 sports and events featuring more than 22,000 athletes will be held at the annual celebration of health and fitness as the nation’s largest multi-sport festival celebrates its 31st Anniversary.
The sports and events feature 17 Olympic sports, nine IFBB Pro League contests, the Arnold Amateur NPC Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure, Bikini & Physique Championships and the Arnold Strongman Classic.
The Arnold Sports Festival began expanding worldwide in 2011 with inaugural Arnold Classic Europe in Spain. Arnold Sports Festival South America debuted in 2013 and the first Arnold Sports Festival Australia was held in 2015. Arnold Sports Festival Africa in Johannesburg was held for the first time in 2016.
Event Highlights
The best and the fittest converge for three days straight to bring all attendees the best experience at what has evolved into the nation's largest multi-sport fitness event.
In as little as five years, the festival has made major transformations, adding several mini-events in sports such as:
- Bodybuilding
- Strength sports
- Combat sports
- Ball sports
- Dance & Gymnastics
- Mind sports
- Skating
- Yoga
in addition to the Arnold Pro Classic and Arnold Strongman competitions. Perhaps most surprisingly, it appears the chess event is closest to Schwarzenegger’s heart.
“When you’re playing chess, you cannot think about anything else otherwise you get beaten. You have to stay focused every second. It’s a really great form of disconnection from everything else.”
There's literally something for everyone!
So get a ticket while you still can. Go to arnoldsportsfestival.com.au Gate opens at 10AM, 15 March, Friday.
And make it a point to visit us in our booth! We've brought the #BestTeesYou'llEverHave for you to try on and buy at a special Arnold Sports Fest price!
See you there!