It's Coming...

Nathan's Circuit Cities Announced
2/28/2006

Host cities for of the 2006 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Circuit have been determined. As in years past, each host city will send one champion to compete in Coney Island at the Annual Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, which will appear live on ESPN on July 4, 2006.

The circuit will begin in mid-April, with the bulk of the events occurring in June. Dates have yet to be announced, but information will soon be available on this site and at www.nathansfamous.com. Hopeful participants should not pick up their telephones as all registration will be handled via the Internet.

In addition to traditional stops such as Las Vegas and Philadelphia, the 2006 circuit will visit new cities including Bloomington, MN and Sunrise, FL. For the second year in a row, qualifiers will occur in San Francisco and at Shea Stadium in Queens, NY.

In 2005, rookie Joey Chestnut competed in the Bay Area, securing a berth in the Nathan’s Championship where he stunned fans worldwide by eating 32 HDBs and placing third behind Sonya Thomas and Kobayashi.

Nathan’s Famous 2006 Circuit cities: Sunrise, Fl; Las Vegas, NV; East Hartford, CT; Philadelphia, PA; Tempe, AZ; Norfolk, VA; Bloomington, MN; Queens, NY; Cranbury, NJ; San Francisco, CA; Atlanta, GA, and Islip, NY.

The Nathan’s Famous International Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Championship has been held each year on July 4 since 1916, according to archives. For the past five years, Takeru Kobayashi of Japan has won the Fourth of July contest. Kobayashi holds the world record with 53 and ½ Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes.