World’s Strongest Man prepares for second year in Myrtle Beach

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – The World’s Strongest Man Competition is returning to Myrtle Beach next week for the second straight year.

The event drew in 30,000 fans from all over the world last year – but organizers said while it was great to have a big crowd, it made it difficult for everyone to get a good view.

Lindsey Landrum, the event’s director, said they’ve implemented general admission tickets and bleachers this year to make sure everyone has a good time.

“It was an actually crazy amount of crowd that turned out to be about 30,000 over the four days,” she said. “So we decided to make some changes this year to ensure everyone’s safety and that they’re able to see everything on site.”

General admission tickets will start at $55. A free fan fest event will be right next to the main competition area and will feature a large jumbotron that streams the event live.

Landrum said they’ve also worked to make the event more family-friendly.

“This year you’ll really see a lot more food trucks outside. We had very long lines last year, so I think we have also enhanced that part of the area as well as just more of a family interaction,” said Landrum. “We really wanted to put the picnic tables out so people can be able to walk in with their kids.”

One of last year’s competitors, Tom Evans, is hoping people will come out to the competition, especially if they didn’t come last year.

“When you’re straining at such a high level and you hear that crowd behind you it does help us push forward,” said Evans.

Landrum said part of their mission for competitors is to show them what the Grand Strand has to offer.

“We don’t want to feel like something that comes in and just does our event and leaves,” said Landrum. “We want to be genuine to the city and make it more fun for everyone that’s there as well as our fans traveling.”

Evans actually grew up in western North Carolina and vacationed in Myrtle Beach while he was growing up. He said he’s looking forward to interacting with the community again, especially in restaurants.

“My thing is where I live there’s not Carolina BBQ like there is down south,” said Evans. “I had to make sure every meal that I got where I had time to eat we went and got BBQ. Just to be part of that atmosphere and to get some good southern home cooking was big for me.”

The competition is May 1-5 and part of North Ocean Boulevard will be shut down during those days.

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