As promised, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be back. Or he’s coming anyway, for the first ever Asia edition of his massive sports festival, the Arnold Classic, next month. The event was first established as a bodybuilding competition in the USA forty years ago, but has since grown into a massive multi-sport festival that occurs on all continents but Antarctica and boasts tens of thousands of attendees every year.
The world’s largest multi-sport festival coming to Hong Kong
The family-friendly Arnold Classic Asia, which will run the weekend of Aug. 20-21 at the AsiaWorld-Expo, aims to celebrate sports, fitness and health in general, while bringing the Hong Kong community together in the spirit of “competition, learning and sharing”.
Attendees will be able to watch or partake in a wide range of sports, including martial arts, strongman, rugby, jump rope, yoga, fencing and even “mind sports” like chess and Rubik’s cubes. (We hear “athletes” get great forearm definition playing those “sports”.)
Obviously, no Hong Kong expo is complete without brands trying to get you to fork over money, so over 300 participating brands will also be exhibiting their merchandise and services.
If you can’t beat him with muscles, can you beat him at chess?
Notable events include the Arnold Classic Pro Show, where you can see bodybuilders duke it out for having applied the most self-tanner and for having the most prominent veins (that’s what it’s about, right?) at 6pm on Aug. 20.
If inspirational talks are more your thing, hear from the man himself at his seminar at 11am on Aug. 21.
Arm wrestling for a chance to see Arnold
For those who can’t wait until the Arnold Classic Asia, you can warm up at FRITES’ weekly arm wrestling showdowns for a chance to win tickets to the festival and meet Arnold himself.
These mini showdowns run every Thursday from 6pm on July 21 onwards to Aug. 11 and will be split into male and female categories. If a chance to impress Arnold with your guns is not enough motivation, winners from each week will receive prizes such as a HKD1,000 FRITES voucher, a bucket of mussels (to go with your muscles) and two tickets to the Arnold Classic Asia.
At the end of these four rounds, the weekly winners will be pooled together to wrestle it out at the Grande Finale on Aug. 13 to win the grand prize of a family ticket to the Arnold Classic Asia, two tickets to his seminar and, more importantly, a photo with Schwarzenegger!
What: Arnold Classic Asia Multi-Sport Festival (more info)
When: 10am-6pm, Aug. 20-21
Where: AsiaWorld-Expo (Google Maps)
Cost: HKD150 per adult, HKD80 for students and people aged under 18, free entry for children under 12. VIP packages also available.
Tickets: Ticketflap.com for regular tickets, HKTicketing.com for VIP tickets
Contact: 2530 8866
What: Arnold Classic IFBB Pro Show (more info)
When: 6pm on Sat., Aug. 20
Where: AsiaWorld-Expo (Google Maps)
Cost: HKD389 and up. VIP packages also available.
Tickets: HKTicketing.com
Contact: 2530 8866
What: Arnold Seminar
When: 11am on Sun., Aug. 21
Where: AsiaWorld-Expo (Google Maps)
Cost: HKD350. VIP packages also available.
Tickets: Ticketflap.com
Contact: 2530 8866
What: FRITES Arm Wrestling Challenge
When: 6pm on July 21, July 28, Aug. 4, and Aug. 11
Where: FRITES Belgian beerhouse, 1/F, The Wellington, 198 Wellington St, Central (Google Maps)
Contact: 2217 6671
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