Large Crowds Expected July 4 at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

The last time a live crowd was able to see Joey Chestnut shove a ton of hot dogs in his mouth was back in 2019.

This year, with COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, Nathan's has announced that live crowds will be allowed back to watch the most famous hot dog eating contest of all time.

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Last year, due to the pandemic, the event was held, but without a live audience and  several records were set, but no one really had a chance to see it. On a normal year, up to 30,000 people would be there to watch those dogs being thrown down.

There is, however, one noticeable change from previous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contests and that's this year the event will be held at a new venue. Maimonides Park, which is the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the single A affiliate of the New York Mets.

According to MajorLeagueEating.com, the park is just a few blocks away from the Nathan's Coney Island location where the event has been held every year.

During last year's competition, the hot dog eating legend Joey Chestnut devoured a new Nathan's record of 75 hot dogs and buns to win his 13th title in the last 14 years. Even the women's champ, Miki Sudo set a hot dog eating record downing 48 and a half dogs and buns in just 10 minutes to win her seventh straight title.

Here's a look at how things looked last year at the contest inside "The Bubble".

The free, ticketed event will follow all federal, state and city health and safety regulations. Tickets to this year’s contest will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. You can get tickets and more information here:

Doors for the event that's been a Coney Island tradition since 1916, will open at 10 am and the event will begin at 10:45 am with the introduction of the female eaters. The women’s competition begins at 11:00 am, while the men’s competition will start at 12:30 pm.

If you just can't get there but don't want to miss the madness, ESPN will broadcast the entire event starting with the women's event at 10:45 am on ESPN3 and the men's competition will begin at 12 pm and broadcast live on ESPN.