CNN
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Ready, set, let’s eat hot dogs!
Americans consume more than 20 billion hot dogs each year, most of them during the summer months. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans eat an estimated 818 hot dogs per second, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
But nothing beats the Fourth of July at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, where people compete to eat as many hot dogs and buns as they can in 10 minutes at Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.
Tens of thousands of spectators brave the unpredictable summer weather each year to watch the competition at the Nathan’s Famous flagship restaurant. Over time, the competition has become synonymous with the holiday and established itself as an iconic American tradition.
The current record for most hot dogs eaten in a competition is 76 hot dogs, held by 16-time champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut. That’s more than the 70 hot dogs and buns the average American eats over the course of a year. After dethroning Takeru Kobayashi in 2007, Chestnut beat his own record eight times, in less than 20 years.
Until 2011, women competed alongside men and then began competing separately.
Chestnut won in 2023 by a whopping 13 hot dogs. However, competitive eating’s biggest star will not be competing in this year’s competition. After Chestnut signed a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods, a plant-based meat company and a competitor to Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, he was disqualified.
Miki Sudo, reigning women’s champion and nine-time Mustard Belt winner, defended her title with 39.5 hot dogs.
The event’s estimated 40,000 attendees, according to Nathan’s, would exceed the capacity of seven other popular hot dog eating locations: MLB stadiums. The Padres’ Petco Park, the Pirates’ PNC Park, the Twins’ Target Field, the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium, the Red Sox’ Fenway Park, the Marlins’ loanDepot Park and the Guardians’ Progressive Field all have a capacity of less than 40,000 spectators. MLB games are a major site for hot dog consumption: In 2020, stadiums sold 19.4 million hot dogs.
Television ratings are often over a million viewers. According to Sports Media Watch, the absolute record audience was 2.8 million for a repeat broadcast after the World Cup coverage in 2014.
Whoever hoists the Mustard Belt this Independence Day will be the reigning champion of a uniquely American sport. Amateur hot dog eaters at barbecues across the country will consume 150 million hot dogs during the holiday, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
