The 2020 Arnold Classic will finally be held in front of a crowd!

First it's sunny, then foggy, then a storm comes, and finally it's cloudy. This is how one could describe the situation around the Arnold Sports Festival, which is as unpredictable as the weather.

Yesterday, we informed you that the Arnold Fitness EXPO has been cancelled due to concerns about the spreading COVID-19 viral illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This is because there would have been tens of thousands of people (up to 250,000 total!) in a confined space for the duration of the event. This would have presented ideal conditions for the spread of Coronavirus!
Furthermore, it was decided that most of the sports competitions would be cancelled, and those that would take place would have to do without spectators. The only exception was to be the finals of the Arnold Classic, a professional bodybuilding competition, to which spectators were to be admitted.

Last night, however, almost everything was different again! Daniel Ketchell, the head of Arnold Schwarzenegger's office, announced that most of the sporting events would take place, even with spectators present!

As the organizers found out, other sporting events in the country are held without major restrictions even with spectators, so they turned to the authorities to ask that their event be viewed by the same standard.

Of course, they confirmed that increased health measures would be put in place at the event. This means that, in addition to taking temperatures and asking about possible symptoms, athletes who have been in infected areas in the past 14 days, such as China, Japan, South Korea, Iran and Italy in particular, will be banned from the festival!

The official press release of the Arnold Sports Festival then states:

The 2020 Arnold Sports Festival will take place March 5-8 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, the Ohio Expo Center and other venues around Columbus.

Due to coronavirus concerns and to protect public health, we have closed the Expo at the direction of local and state officials, but sports will continue and friends, families and fans are welcome to watch their favorite athletes compete. Tickets will be available at the door.

The following is a listing of the events and sports that will eventually take place. Listed here, in addition to the Professional Bodybuilder and Strongman competitions, are the Professional Bodybuilder Meet, Arnold Classic Amateur, Arnold Amateur World Strongman Championships, Strongwoman professional competition, Ninja Warrior and more.

But then below is also a list of those events that are cancelled. In addition to the aforementioned Arnold Fitness Expo, these include Jay Cutler and Brian Shaw's seminar, MMA Workshop, Armwrestling and Spartan Race.

Source:
www.arnoldsportsfestival.com