This year on 19th and 20th March, the British Grand Prix will make its long-awaited comeback. It has a new venue, new promoters and, most excitingly of all, a new weekend-long format.
Last held in 2004, this year’s Grand Prix boasts a prize fund of $50,000 for the main open bodybuilding class and another $18,000 for the 202 pound class, plus an international amateur contest in which the overall champion will receive his pro card and an invitation to compete against the pros a few hours later, and amateur classic bodybuilding, bikini and bodyfitness contests – this really will be an event not to be missed.
If all that wasn’t enough, one of the all-time greats of bodybuilding, Francis Benfatto, has agreed to guest pose and two more all-time greats, Lee Haney and Shawn Ray, will act as emcees along with Kerry Kayes, the mercurial Mancunian who last promoted the event seven years ago.
There will also be a two-day expo featuring many of the biggest companies in sports nutrition, an international strongman contest, weightlifting andpowerlifting, boxing, martial arts, armwrestling, BMX, skateboarding, pole dancing and to top it all, sumo wrestling. Every minute of the schedule is packed with action.
The event is being revived by Neil Hill and Simon Fan. Neil and Simon are not marketing men looking to make a quick buck but bodybuilders to the core; both men have been involved in the sport for twenty years as competitors and in a variety of other guises and are well respected on the UK and international bodybuilding scene. The two are so committed to the cause they have booked the ExCel Arena in London’s Docklands as the venue for the next five years.
You don’t have to explain to Neil and Simon what the Grand Prix means to British bodybuilding fans because they have attended most of them. Neil even competed in the 2002 contest while Simon, who runs the famous Temple Gym in Birmingham, can still reel off the names of the winners from most years.
Neil has vivid memories of his time on stage where he finished 16th in a contest memorable for being Dexter Jackson’s first pro-show victory. The one-two-three that year was Dexter, Dennis James and Chris Cormier — three of the top pros of the day. Britain’s Ernie Taylor was fourth. “I have lots of good memories about it,” says Neil, who no longer competes but guided James ‘Flex’ Lewis, James Llewellin and Zack Khan to consecutive UK overall titles between 2007 and 2009. “It was the most enjoyable experience I had of competing in any show. I remember being backstage with guys I had looked up to in the magazines and with guys like Dexter coming up to me and commenting on my condition. It was just a great, great day. The Grand Prix was always the highlight of the year.”
There’s little doubt about that. It’s hard to think of many major inter-national bodybuilding stars of the last 25 years who didn’t fly in for the event. Previous winners include Dorian Yates, Vince Taylor, Kevin Levrone, Jay Cutler, Dexter Jackson and Ronnie Coleman. Flex Wheeler, Milos Sarcev and Günter Schlierkamp are among the great names who never actually won it.
Numerous British bodybuilders have given the home crowd plenty to shout about, most notably Dorian, but also Ernie Taylor, Ian Harrison, Shaun ‘Dinosaur’ Davis, J.D. Dawodu and Charles Clairmonte. For them, it was a rare chance to take the Americans on in their own back yard.
But the Grand Prix was never just Britain versus America; there was always a smattering of guys from all over the world, particularly Europe, where for fans the show was just a short hop across the Channel rather than a more expensive trip to the United States.
Much has changed in the seven years since the event was last staged. Back then there was no 202 pound class; now British fans are salivating at the prospect of seeing a barrelful of Brits, including perhaps Flex Lewis, John Hodgson, Mike Sheridan, James Llewellin, Paul George, Shaun Joseph-Tavernier, Nana Manu and Mike King, go head-to-head against each other and the best of the rest from around the world, as well as seeing some of the biggest names in bodybuilding in the open class.
It’s impossible to say at this stage who will compete but names such as Branch Warren, Dexter Jackson, Phil Heath, Kai Greene and Johnnie Jackson are being mooted for the open class while Gary Strydom has intimated that he will make a comeback.
The Grand Prix will add more spice to an exciting spring IFBB international pro calendar that also includes the FLEX Pro Bodybuilding and Figure Championships, the Arnold Classic, the Australian Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the new FIBO Grand Prix in Germany. So it could not be better timed to attract international talent.
It promises to the best line-up in Britain, if not the whole of Europe, in 2011. But there will be much, much more than bodybuilding over the weekend. World’s Strongest Man finalist Terry Hollands is organising a major strongman event, which will be televised. Powerlifter Andy Bolton, the only man to deadlift more than 1,000 pounds, will attempt to break his own astonishing world record.
The expo itself aims to attract 12,000 to 18,000 people. “Our intention is to make it the size of the Olympia in three to five years,” says Neil. They have 98,000 square feet of floor space so the potential is there.
So what prompted them to bring the Grand Prix back? “You can blame Zack Khan for that,” jokes Neil. The British super-heavyweight put forward the idea early last year and Neil bit. “The British bodybuilding community and fans have been screaming out for a pro show since 2004,” says Neil. “We wanted to bring it back to excite them and to give something back to the sport.”
After getting the go-ahead from Bill Tierney, president of the UKBFF, he began trying to secure a date and venue. Most major venues need to be booked months in advance so Neil wrote off 2010 and decided to focus on 2011. The Grand Prix used to be staged in the autumn, a week after the Olympia so why break with tradition by placing it in the spring run of shows? “We thought the best time to put it on would be just after the Arnold because if we had put it on after the Olympia it could have harmed the British Championships, which is held at that time, and we didn’t want that,” says Neil. Also, not everyone would have been able to afford to go to two big weekends in quick succession.
After initially considering Birmingham, Neil and Simon eventually settled on the ExCel Arena, a 4,000-seat venue in London’s Docklands, a few miles from City Airport. ExCel was purposely built for big events and exhibitions so it is well suited for the expo as well as all the events that will be taking place.
Neil and Simon are doing everything they can to make the Grand Prix a success and to give a boost to the British strength and fitness scene. Let’s hope the fans turn out in force to support them. Those that do will be in for a treat.
“People can see how serious we are by the amount of prize money being put forward and all the other events that are taking place,” says Neil. “We want people to walk away and say ‘that was a really great event’ and want to come back next year.”
Joe Weider’s Mr Olympia Euro Amateur Bodybuilding Championships
The British Grand Prix will serve up perhaps the most exciting amateur bodybuilding contest in the world as an aperitif for the main event. It will see the best amateur bodybuilders from across Europe and selected other nations (not including America) compete in seven different weight classes with the overall champion getting the chance to turn pro as well as compete against the pros a few hours later.
There will be under 70 kg, under 75 kg, under 80 kg, under 85 kg, under 90 kg, under 100 kg and over 100 kg classes. IFBB national federations will select up to three athletes for each class.
If that weren’t enough there will also be two classic bodybuilding classes, two bodyfitness classes and a bikini class. That’s twelve classes of high quality international amateur bodybuilding. Britain’s Bobby ‘Poster Boy’ Khan will be among the fancied contenders in the classic class.
It’s a similar format to the one used at the amateur Arnold Classic and will no doubt prove highly popular. Prejudging and the finals for the men’s weight classes will take place on the Saturday, in time for the overall champion to line up for the pro show prejudging on Saturday night.
The classic, bodyfitness and bikini classes will take place on Sunday, before the finals of the pro show.
This is one event you must attend. For more details and to buy tickets visit www.grandprixexpo.co.uk. Prices begin at £25 and include a £175 VIP package that includes an after-show party as well as access to all the events.
Last held in 2004, this year’s Grand Prix boasts a prize fund of $50,000 for the main open bodybuilding class and another $18,000 for the 202 pound class, plus an international amateur contest in which the overall champion will receive his pro card and an invitation to compete against the pros a few hours later, and amateur classic bodybuilding, bikini and bodyfitness contests – this really will be an event not to be missed.
If all that wasn’t enough, one of the all-time greats of bodybuilding, Francis Benfatto, has agreed to guest pose and two more all-time greats, Lee Haney and Shawn Ray, will act as emcees along with Kerry Kayes, the mercurial Mancunian who last promoted the event seven years ago.
There will also be a two-day expo featuring many of the biggest companies in sports nutrition, an international strongman contest, weightlifting and powerlifting, boxing, martial arts, armwrestling, BMX, skateboarding, pole dancing and to top it all, sumo wrestling. Every minute of the schedule is packed with action.
The event is being revived by Neil Hill and Simon Fan. Neil and Simon are not marketing men looking to make a quick buck but bodybuilders to the core; both men have been involved in the sport for twenty years as competitors and in a variety of other guises and are well respected on the UK and international bodybuilding scene. The two are so committed to the cause they have booked the ExCel Arena in London’s Docklands as the venue for the next five years.
You don’t have to explain to Neil and Simon what the Grand Prix means to British bodybuilding fans because they have attended most of them. Neil even competed in the 2002 contest while Simon, who runs the famous Temple Gym in Birmingham, can still reel off the names of the winners from most years.
Neil has vivid memories of his time on stage where he finished 16th in a contest memorable for being Dexter Jackson’s first pro-show victory. The one-two-three that year was Dexter, Dennis James and Chris Cormier — three of the top pros of the day. Britain’s Ernie Taylor was fourth. “I have lots of good memories about it,” says Neil, who no longer competes but guided James ‘Flex’ Lewis, James Llewellin and Zack Khan to consecutive UK overall titles between 2007 and 2009. “It was the most enjoyable experience I had of competing in any show. I remember being backstage with guys I had looked up to in the magazines and with guys like Dexter coming up to me and commenting on my condition. It was just a great, great day. The Grand Prix was always the highlight of the year.”
There’s little doubt about that. It’s hard to think of many major inter-national bodybuilding stars of the last 25 years who didn’t fly in for the event. Previous winners include Dorian Yates, Vince Taylor, Kevin Levrone, Jay Cutler, Dexter Jackson and Ronnie Coleman. Flex Wheeler, Milos Sarcev and Günter Schlierkamp are among the great names who never actually won it.
Numerous British bodybuilders have given the home crowd plenty to shout about, most notably Dorian, but also Ernie Taylor, Ian Harrison, Shaun ‘Dinosaur’ Davis, J.D. Dawodu and Charles Clairmonte. For them, it was a rare chance to take the Americans on in their own back yard.
But the Grand Prix was never just Britain versus America; there was always a smattering of guys from all over the world, particularly Europe, where for fans the show was just a short hop across the Channel rather than a more expensive trip to the United States.
Much has changed in the seven years since the event was last staged. Back then there was no 202 pound class; now British fans are salivating at the prospect of seeing a barrelful of Brits, including perhaps Flex Lewis, John Hodgson, Mike Sheridan, James Llewellin, Paul George, Shaun Joseph-Tavernier, Nana Manu and Mike King, go head-to-head against each other and the best of the rest from around the world, as well as seeing some of the biggest names in bodybuilding in the open class.
It’s impossible to say at this stage who will compete but names such as Branch Warren, Dexter Jackson, Phil Heath, Kai Greene and Johnnie Jackson are being mooted for the open class while Gary Strydom has intimated that he will make a comeback.
The Grand Prix will add more spice to an exciting spring IFBB international pro calendar that also includes the FLEX Pro Bodybuilding and Figure Championships, the Arnold Classic, the Australian Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the new FIBO Grand Prix in Germany. So it could not be better timed to attract international talent.
It promises to the best line-up in Britain, if not the whole of Europe, in 2011. But there will be much, much more than bodybuilding over the weekend. World’s Strongest Man finalist Terry Hollands is organising a major strongman event, which will be televised. Powerlifter Andy Bolton, the only man to deadlift more than 1,000 pounds, will attempt to break his own astonishing world record.
The expo itself aims to attract 12,000 to 18,000 people. “Our intention is to make it the size of the Olympia in three to five years,” says Neil. They have 98,000 square feet of floor space so the potential is there.
So what prompted them to bring the Grand Prix back? “You can blame Zack Khan for that,” jokes Neil. The British super-heavyweight put forward the idea early last year and Neil bit. “The British bodybuilding community and fans have been screaming out for a pro show since 2004,” says Neil. “We wanted to bring it back to excite them and to give something back to the sport.”
After getting the go-ahead from Bill Tierney, president of the UKBFF, he began trying to secure a date and venue. Most major venues need to be booked months in advance so Neil wrote off 2010 and decided to focus on 2011. The Grand Prix used to be staged in the autumn, a week after the Olympia so why break with tradition by placing it in the spring run of shows? “We thought the best time to put it on would be just after the Arnold because if we had put it on after the Olympia it could have harmed the British Championships, which is held at that time, and we didn’t want that,” says Neil. Also, not everyone would have been able to afford to go to two big weekends in quick succession.
After initially considering Birmingham, Neil and Simon eventually settled on the ExCel Arena, a 4,000-seat venue in London’s Docklands, a few miles from City Airport. ExCel was purposely built for big events and exhibitions so it is well suited for the expo as well as all the events that will be taking place.
Neil and Simon are doing everything they can to make the Grand Prix a success and to give a boost to the British strength and fitness scene. Let’s hope the fans turn out in force to support them. Those that do will be in for a treat.
“People can see how serious we are by the amount of prize money being put forward and all the other events that are taking place,” says Neil. “We want people to walk away and say ‘that was a really great event’ and want to come back next year.”
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