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2006/05/24, 02:05 AM
**PRESS RELEASE**
JOE WEIDER’S 2006 OLYMPIA WEEKEND RETURNS TO THE ORLEANS ARENA AND LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER
American Media, Inc. (AMI) and the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) announced today that Joe Weider’s 2006 Olympia Weekend competitions (Mr. Olympia, Ms. Olympia, Women’s Figure and Fitness) will be held at the Orleans Arena and the Olympia Fitness Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The weekend kicks off on Thursday, September 28th and concludes Sunday, October 1st
This year’s Super Bowl of bodybuilding, Mr. Olympia, will see current titleholder Ronnie Coleman go for an unprecedented 9th straight Sandow on Saturday night, September 30th. If successful, Coleman will break Lee Haney’s record of 8 Mr. Olympia titles. On the women’s side, Yaxeni Oriquen (Ms. Olympia), Davana Medina (Figure) and Jen Hendershott (Fitness) will return to defend their titles.
One major schedule change moves the Mr. Olympia prejudging to Friday night (September 29) at the Orleans Arena (last year it was held on Saturday morning). In addition, the Ms. Olympia Finals will move to Friday night at the Arena as well, Also taking place at the Arena on Friday night is the Fitness Finals. The Figure Olympia Finals will shift to Saturday night with the Mr. Olympia Finals. The Ms. Olympia, Fitness and Figure prejudging will take place at the Expo on Friday, September 29. The 8000 seat Orleans Arena hosted its first Olympia competition in 2005 and proved to be the ideal venue for the event.
The Olympia Expo will return to the Las Vegas Convention Center Sept. 29 – Sept. 30, with increased space on the main floor to accommodate a greater number of new exhibitors than ever before, plus a host of new events. The UFC Octagon and mixed-martial arts exhibition that was a big hit last year is scheduled to be back.
To handle the traffic flow to and from the Convention Center and the Orleans, as well as other popular Vegas hotels and destinations, a fleet of buses will be providing free transportation throughout the weekend.
IFBB President, Ben Weider commented “This year’s Olympia will be the biggest ever, spearheaded by Ronnie Coleman’s attempt to win his 9th Mr. Olympia title. And, in the Orleans Arena and Las Vegas Convention Center, we have the two premiere locations in Las Vegas to showcase our athletes and our industry.”
AMI Chairman David Pecker added, “We intend to make this years Expo bigger and better than ever. Through this venue, we believe there is a significant opportunity to increase consumer awareness about bodybuilding and allow our exhibitors to reach a mainstream audience as well as their core customers.”
-----Hope to see some of ya here in Sin City.... :)
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Michael
Powerlifters -
We eat raw meat, and sleep naked in the snow...
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