It is held annually in Columbus (Ohio) and is the most highly endowed competition of its kind today.

Arnold Classic story

In 1989 the Arnold Classic their premiere. Organizers of this event were Arnold Schwarzenegger and James J. Lorimer, who have been the Mr. Olympia aligned. Since the first year, a comparison competition between the world's best female bodybuilders has been held alongside the men's competition. For this, the election launched three years earlier became the Ms. International relocated to Columbus, where she was next to the in the following years Ms. Olympic the most prestigious competition in women's BB. With the inclusion of the fitness classes in the IFBB competition calendar, more women’s competitions found their way into the program of the IFBB event.
In 1993 the Arnold Classic with the Arnold Fitness Expo expanded, which is now considered the most important trade fair for the US fitness industry. Both events took place under the name Arnold Fitness Weekend instead - in 2006 the name was changed to Arnold Sports Festival.