Schwarzenegger-backed sports festival to make UK debut at NEC

The world-renowned Arnold Sports Festival is coming to the United Kingdom in October 2021 and will take place at the NEC, Birmingham.

The sold out event follows annual festivals already hosted across the USA, Spain, Australia, Africa and South America.

First held as the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, and founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Lorimer, the Arnold Sports Festival now welcomes more than 200,000 visitors and 20,000 athletes over four days at its original event location every year.

Delivered by the 2017 World 's Strongest Man, Eddie Hall, An Experience With founder, Stephen Olexy, and in partnership with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Arnold Sports Festival is a new event for the UK 's fitness and sports scene.

The event incorporates a multi-sports festival and expo, bringing the biggest and best brands from the industry to showcase their products.

Bodybuilding, Strongman, Boxing, MMA, CrossFit, Powerlifting, Cheerleading, Dance and many more sports will be.

It 's expected that more than 60,000 visitors and 5,000 competitors will be attracted to the NEC for this inaugural UK event.

Arnold Sports Festival UK partners Stephen Olexy and Eddie Hall said: “We 're absolutely delighted to be bringing an event of such magnitude to the UK and specifically Birmingham. The UK sports & fitness industry needs fresh ideas and the worldwide established Arnold Sports Festival will bring a fresh overhaul plus much, much more.

“The size and reputation of the NEC, as well as it 's amazing transport links, make it the perfect venue to host what promises to be an iconic event. ”

A host of sports stars have already been confirmed to attend the event, driving this as the ultimate experience and spectacle for UK sports and fitness communities.

The 'Meet Your Heroes ' feature will include appearances by Sylvester Stallone, Usain Bolt, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre, Katie Taylor and Wim Hof alongside event hosts Eddie Hall and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Richard Mann, new business director for the NEC, said: “It 's fantastic that the NEC will stage the first UK edition of this globally recognised event.

“We have great experience in hosting an array of sports and fitness events, and with this addition we continue to progress in showcasing our facilities in this field and welcoming these communities to our venue.

“We look forward to working with new organisers on this event and hope to make the NEC the home of the Arnold Sports Festival UK for many years to come. ”

For more information on the event, click here.