The 2022 Arnold Sports Festival UK (ASFUK) will take place on Sept. 23-25, 2022, in Birmingham, England. The Festival’s namesake, strength sports and Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger, will not be in attendance. The 2022 Arnold Classic UK and the 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic UK contests are a part of the overall Festival.
In a formal statement released on Sept. 22, 2022, Executive Director of the Arnold Sports Festival, Brian Flowers, noted that Schwarzenegger wouldn’t be in attendance at this year’s edition because of financial issues behind the scenes.
“While Gov. Schwarzenegger very much wished to attend, we were informed that financial obligations to a variety of people had not been met and requested assurances that the financial commitments to all competitors be satisfied by having monies put it in escrow for them,” Flowers wrote. “As a result of the Promoter’s failure to do so and the fact we were never able to reach an agreement with the Promoter regarding details of the appearance, Gov. Schwarzenegger will not appear in-person.”
The ASFUK Instagram page released its own statement. It clarified that fans who have special event tickets to the Festival would be contacted at an undisclosed time:
View this post on Instagram
[Related: The Best Landmine Workouts for More Muscle and Better Conditioning]
With the hiccup between Schwarzenegger’s non-attendance and promoters, the other significant change to the ASFUK is that the Festival will have a new name, “Experience With Sports Festival UK,” moving forward. Whether this change would take place immediately for the 2022 edition or go into effect in 2023 was not disclosed.
“We are looking forward to growing the Experience With Sports Festival UK, and we are eager to bring you on this journey with us,” the ASFUK Instagram page wrote.
2022 will mark the second straight occasion that Schwarzenegger does not attend the Festival. He missed the inaugural edition after concerns with COVID-19.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: The Best HIIT Workouts with Bodyweight, with Kettlebells, and More]
The 2022 ASFUK features various tentpole contests involving sports like powerlifting, CrossFit, and bodybuilding. The status of the latter segment — the 2022 Arnold Classic UK — was addressed by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League in a statement released on Sept. 22, 2022.
The organization, led by President Jim Manion, guaranteed that “all IFBB Pro League athletes who place at the 2022 ASF will be paid.” The 2022 Arnold Classic UK features nine divisions from the Men’s Open and 212 to Women’s Physique and Bikini.
At the time of this writing, the 2022 ASFUK is proceeding as planned. In the event of any new developments or updates, Breaking Muscle will adjust this information accordingly.
Featured image: @arnoldsportsuk on Instagram
