Relishing the competition! Nathan’s hot dog eating contest will be held indoors without fans but 12-time reigning champ Joey Chestnut hopes the less sweaty conditions will help him smash world record of 74
- The annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest attracts thousands of spectators to Coney Island every July 4th
- This year’s competition will take place in an undisclosed location without crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic
- 12-time winner Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut is competing in this year’s event; He believes the new indoor conditions could help him break a world record
- In 2018, Chestnut downed a whopping 74 hot dogs in the space of 10 minutes
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
The 2020 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will be held indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The iconic event, which usually takes place every July 4th outside the Nathan’s restaurant in Coney Island, will this year be held inside a nearby building instead, CBS Sports reports.
The contest usually attracts thousands of spectators who crowd close together, but audiences will now be banned in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19.
ESPN broadcasts the Independence Day event, but it’s not thought the telecast will be affected by the change of location or rules prohibiting spectators.
The 2020 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will be held indoors in a bid to stop spectators crowding together amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pcitured: crowds at last year’s contest held in Coney Island, Brooklyn
Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut is pictured during the 2019 contest. He downed 71 wieners in the space of 10 minutes to take home the title
While the competitors won’t have crowds to cheer them, they will be blessed with a new advantage – air conditioning.
Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut – who last year downed 71 wieners in the space of 10 minutes to win the competition – told TMZ Tuesday that the cooler conditions would be ‘a little bit of a bonus’.
He added: ‘There’s a good chance that we might have better conditions for a world record and I’ma be pushing for it.’
Chestnut has won Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest a whopping 12 times since 2007 – with his personal best occurring in 2018, when he chowed down 74 dogs.
This year, he hopes to eat at least 75 wieners and buns in a bid to break that record.
In a recent post shared to Instagram, Chestnut revealed he’s been practicing for the 2020 contest. He believes this year’s air-conditioned climes may be an advantage
Chestnut is pictured when he first won the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest back in 2007
Spectators are seen squeezing in to watch the event last year. This year, spectators will be banned from watching the competition
This year marks the 104th contest. Three contestants are pictured during the 71st contest, held on July 4, 1987
In a recent post shared to Instagram, Chestnut revealed he’s been practicing for the 2020 contest.
‘I may not be able to get my hair cut, but you can bet I’m able to practice for the 4th of July hot dog eating contest,’ the California native wrote beneath a snap that showed dozens of wieners sizzling on a grill.
According to Darren Rovell of the Action Network, 75 hot dogs contain more than 20,000 calories, 1,100 grams of fat, and 20,000 milligrams of cholesterol.
This year will be the 104th Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.
The event originated back in 1916, where four immigrants purportedly held a hot dog eating contest on July 4th outside the Nathan’s stand in a bid to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic.
Nathan’s promoter Mortimer Matz later admitted to fabricating that origin story in a bid to increase interest in the competition back in the 1970s.
Spectators chow down on hot dogs as they watch the contest back on July 4, 2017
Crowds are pictured at the 2017 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest