Arnold Sports Festival: Deep dive into the journey of the 12,000+ athletes, 50+ sports event set up by Arnold Schwarzenegger

The Arnold Sports Festival (ASF) was established in 1989 by legendary bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former FBI agent Jim Lorimer has expanded massively over the past 30 years. This festival now features over 50-plus sports and events with over 12,000 participating athletes for four days.

The IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival is an annual sports festival that features multiple sports from professional bodybuilding to powerlifting and is usually organized in February and March.

The main event which takes centre stage is organized by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional Leagues. The festival features the Arnold Strongman Classic, which is often widely regarded as the heaviest and most difficult competition in the world.

The annual sports festival has grown remarkably since its launch in February 1989, both in terms of competitiveness as well as its popularity. Initially, The ASF started as bodybuilding content but now has diversified into multiple aspects of different sports.

Due to a large number of sports being added to the event, its popularity rose tremendously inviting people from all around the globe. The mega event expanded itself from the United States to Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe.

The Arnold Sports Festival 2024 will be held in Columbus, Ohio, USA, from February 29 to March 3. For over four days, the festival will feature multiple events in disciplines like bodybuilding, strongman, fitness, combat sports, and strength sports.

Arnold Sports Festival Prize money

Arnold Sports Festival Africa 2019

The Arnold Sports Festival is known for the lucrative prizes that it offers to the winners. Previously, the winner of the bodybuilding contest would receive a $130,000 check, an ultra-luxury watch from the famous Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet, and a Hummer vehicle.

The winner of the 2024 edition of the Arnold Strongman Classic will receive $80,000 out of the total prize money pool of $182,000. Moreover, the winner of the bodybuilding contest, Arnold Classic 2023 Samson Dauda, received a whopping $300,000 as prize money.

Over the years, the event became very competitive in the prize money they were offering. Mr Olympia remains the bodybuilding competition which offers the highest prize money in this discipline. The winner of the Mr. Olympia title in 2023 received a staggering $400,000 in prize money.

All in all, the sports festival is known for its cut-throat competition in which the winners are separated only by one or two points. This competitive spirit keeps the Mega Event successful year after year.