Phuket follows in the footsteps of Chiang Mai, which hosted the tournament four years ago, and Pattaya which hosted it in 2016.
The success of both of those events gave the World Bodybuilding and Fitness Sports Federation (WBPF) the confidence that a similarly successful event could be hosted in Phuket, said Sukree Supavareekul, President of the Bodybuilding and Fitness Sports Association of Thailand.
“Thailand is once again honoured that the WBPF has entrusted us to host this special occasion,” Mr Sukree said at a press conference yesterday (Nov 23), adding that the competition will run from Dec 6-12 and will be held at the Floresta side of the Central Phuket shopping mall in Kathu.
“There will be more than 1,000 athletes and officials who will compete and officiate in 43 competitions set by the federation,” he said.
“For the Thai national team the association has selected 45 athletes who will perform across a variety of categories and who will report for a physical fitness check-up before the end of November.”
Mr Sukree further explained that the event can help boost the economy on a local and national scale by hundreds of millions of baht.
Competitors will be representig the following nations: Cambodia, Hungary, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Maldives, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, United States, India, Brunei, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Romania, Madagascar, Bhutan, Italy, South Korea, Kenya, Taiwan, Iraq, Mongolia, Mauritius, Nepal, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, Macau, Austria, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Laos, Australia, Ukraine, Egypt, Singapore, Thailand, Iran, Bahrain, Palestine and China.