New Mr. Olympia Brazil leaves out Open Bodybuilding.
Tamer El Guindy, the CEO of Musclecontest and Producer of the Olympia Weekend, has just announced that the Amateur Olympia Brazil, which is taking place 18-20 October 2024, will also have a pro event.
This event will take place just days after the Olympia Weekend, which is taking place 10-13 October 2024.
This may sound a bit confusing, as until now, the Amateur Olympia events, organized worldwide, were only amateur events, with a pro event under a different name.
For the first time, the Mr. Olympia franchise will be organizing a pro show outside of the main Mr. Olympia event.
Tamer El Guindy, has just announced that the Amateur Olympia Brazil will be including a Mr. Olympia pro show, meaning that now, there will be two professional Mr. Olympia events.
To continue celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Mr. Olympia event, Tamer has announced that 50 professional athletes, that are qualified for the 2024 Olympia Weekend can apply for an invitation to the Mr. Olympia Brazil, with flight, accommodation, and a two-day holiday all paid for.
This is great for the sport of bodybuilding and fitness, but one major event was left out, Open Bodybuilding was omitted from the pro event schedule.
Official Press Release
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT AND INVITATION FOR ALL OLYMPIA QUALIFIED ATHLETES! ❗️
We have a very special invitation to extend to you. We cordially invite you to compete in Brazil at the Olympia Brazil on October 18-20, just one week after the Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas. Airfare and hotel will be paid, as well as a two-day trip to Rio De Janeiro following the completion of the show.
This year is huge at the Mr. Olympia. We are celebrating the 60-year anniversary of this amazing event!
We want to continue the 60-year celebration of the Mr. Olympia in Brazil and we want to invite 50 Olympia athletes to come and compete the week after the Olympia at the Olympia Brazil.
If you’re interested in continuing this great celebration in Brazil, please email Candice@musclecontest.com and let us know that you’re interested in competing, or guest posing, and we will contact you and make the selections shortly.
Please submit your statement of interest via email by Wednesday, August 21, 2024. Athletes selections will be announced on Friday, August 23, 2024.
Open Bodybuilding left out of Mr. Olympia Brazil Pro Event
The offer from the 2024 Mr. Olympia Brazil organizers is a fantastic incentive for professional athletes, to compete at an event just days after the Olympia Weekend.
The list of events scheduled are Bikini, Wellness, Men’s Classic Physique, and 212 Bodybuilding. What shocked several bodybuilding pundits and fans is that Open Bodybuilding was not included in the contest lineup.
How can a professional event under the Mr. Olympia banner, omit Open Bodybuilding from their contest lineup?
The money that the promoters are spending on the two-day vacation for the 50 athletes, could have been used to pay for the flights and accommodation for a group of open bodybuilders.
If the organizers are in the process of putting the pro event under a different name, then this would make more sense, as there are several professional events on the contest schedule without open bodybuilding.
If the event runs under the Mr. Olympia name, open bodybuilding must be included, there’s no other way around this.
One reason could be that the Olympia Weekend organizing committee only wants the professional open bodybuilding event at the main contest in Vegas.
A great opportunity for professional athletes that can’t enter the USA to compete
The Mr. Olympia Brazil would be a great opportunity for athletes who qualified for the Mr. Olympia but were refused a VISA to enter the USA, to compete.
Several athletes each year, go through the grueling process of contest prep and manage to earn their Olympia qualification, to then get refused entry into the USA.
Having another professional Olympia event in another country would open more opportunities for athletes, to finally step on the Olympia stage as professionals.
If open bodybuilding is included at the Olympia Brazil event, the winner of the Mr. Olympia, would then immediately defend his title against athletes who could not travel to the USA. This would be a very exciting event.
Our friend at Muscle Discord, Matt Tsinkorang, also gives his opinion about this subject as well.
What do you think about this decision? Was it right for the organizers to leave out open bodybuilding from the contest lineup?
