Olympia owner Jake Wood believes the sport’s biggest show of the year might see major changes soon. In a YouTube video from May 27, 2026, Wood hinted that the Mr. Olympia could go international every five years.
Since 1965, the Mr. Olympia has served as the most consequential bodybuilding event of the season. The Men’s Open winner has long been considered the number one bodybuilder in the world. The annual showcase is massive and features participants from every IFBB Pro League division.
In 2025, Derek Lunsford made history and secured his second Mr. Olympia title. He took home an impressive $600,000 winner’s purse and became the second bodybuilder since Jay Cutler to reclaim the Sandow trophy after losing it onstage. With just under four months until the event returns to Vegas, Wood opened up on where he sees the brand going in the future.
Jake Wood Says Mr. Olympia Is Considering Expanding Outside the U.S Once Every 5 Years
During the interview, Wood confirmed that the Mr. Olympia brand is considering an expansion outside of the U.S.
“And with all that said about bouncing around, we are also taking a look at the idea of taking the Olympia outside of the country once every five years or so.
Yeah, so we are thinking about that. We’re not announcing that it’s happening, but we’re looking at the possibilities and examining what the benefits and what the losses will be on that.”
Wood also addressed the challenges of moving the event’s venue each year:
“We’re doing the best we can. Every single year, we’ve been dealing with the issue of that we’ve been changing venues every year, so we need to adapt our show and whatnot.
I’m hoping to spend a good period of time exactly as we’re setting up this year, Palms Hotel, with the Orleans Arena, and of course, LBCC, that way we can actually start to refine and do better for the athletes.”
He added that they are continuing to test other venues to make it a richer experience for fans and athletes.
“We’ve been bouncing around trying out some of the theatres, give everybody a different experience. There’s a large part of the bodybuilding industry that really favors the theatre setting.
Sometimes they can be very vocal. They are absolutely right, it is a better way to see a bodybuilding show for those fans who are actually in the audience, the difficulty is you can’t fit nearly enough people in there,” Jake Wood said.
Olympia Owner Jake Wood hasn’t been the only one to float a possible expansion. Bodybuilding legend Shawn Ray has been adamant that it’s only a matter of time before the Olympia takes place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“It’s going to be a matter of time before I think the Mr. Olympia winds up here on some level, and it’s going to open a whole other door of growth in our sport,” Ray said.
Should the Mr. Olympia announce a show overseas, Fitness Volt will have the story. For now, attention turns to the 2026 Mr. Olympia, slated to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, from September 24-27.
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