Next spring will be an exciting time for sports in the Grand Strand. Not only will the first PGA Tour event, the Myrtle Beach Classic, take place May 9-12, 2024, but IMG announced the 47th World’s Strongest Man (WSM) competition will return to Myrtle Beach on May 1-5.
In partnership with Visit Myrtle Beach, next year’s strongman competition will bring in about 30 competitors from across the world for a four-day schedule that includes two days of qualifiers and a two-day final. The world’s elite strongmen will be pushed to their physical and mental limits with an epic series of events.
IMG was very impressed with holding their first competition here along the Grand Strand where a record amount of spectators joined in on the fun, said Visit Myrtle Beach Executive Director of Sports Tourism Jonathan Paris. As a result, IMG decided to bring the event back for another year.
"Myrtle Beach offers an easy-to-reach, affordable option for international competitors who want to bring out their entire family for the event," Paris noted.
In fact, IMG said 7,000 spectators attended the 2022 event per day and many of those came in from internationation destinations, representing vacation 24 different countries. These visitors, along with the competitors and the IMG crews that produced the event contributed a 7.8 million economic impact to the region, according to Visit Myrtle Beach calculations.
What's more, the event has been watched by 1.9 million viewers across the country on CBS sports, up 15 percent from the 2021 broadcast. And it's still being viewed in international locations with projected viewership totaling 70 countries and nearly 300 million homes. In the U.K., the World's Strongest Man will be watched on Boxing Day following Christmas with an expected viewership of 1.3 million.
Visit Myrtle Beach's Karen Riordan, President & CEO, was also impressed with how well the event fit into the atmosphere along Ocean Boulevard. “The crowd at the 2023 event exceeded our expectations, as we saw fans from around the US and the world cheer on the competitors over the four days of the event. We can’t wait to welcome the strongmen and their fans back to The Beach and hope they enjoy all our destination has to offer. We’re excited to welcome the competition back to Myrtle Beach for a second consecutive year."
Next year's event will offer reserved general admission seating to enhance the fan experience and a consolidated center stage for the four-day, action-packed competition. The fan festival area will remain free and open to the public, and include food trucks, giveaways and a viewing area for the general public.
For more information, visit www.theworldsstrongestman.com.
