Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest 2024 Schedule, Live Stream, Weather and Chestnut Ban

The greatest competitive eaters in the world will descend upon Coney Island Thursday for the annual July 4th tradition, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.

That is, except for one.

Joey Chestnut, the most decorated and celebrated eater in the history of the event, will not compete this year following a controversial ban from the contest.

Find out the latest on the 16-time champion, what he will be doing on Independence Day instead, who will be competing in New York, and when and where you can watch all of the action with this preview of the holiday spectacular.

Schedule, Viewing Info, and Weather

Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images

Contestants compete during a hot dog eating contest at Coney Island, New York City, the United States, on July 4, 2023. Named the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, the annual event has occurred each July 4 on Coney Island since 1916, according to archives. Joey Chestnut, 39, won the first place for the 16th time by eating 62 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Miki Sudo, 37, won the women's championship for the ninth time on Tuesday morning by consuming 39.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Start Time: 11:00 a.m. (women's division), 12:20 p.m. (men's)

TV: ESPN

Streaming: ESPN+

Location: Nathan's on Coney Island

Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy

Men's Competitors

Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 04: Geoffrey Esper competes in the 2023 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on July 04, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The annual contest, which began in 1972, draws thousands of spectators to Nathan’s Famous located on Surf Avenue. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Competitors in this year's men's competition include:

• Geoffrey Esper (49, ranked No. 2 in Major League Eating)
• Nicholas Wehry (35, No. 4)
• James Webb (35, No. 5)
• Gideon Oji (32, No. 6)
• Derek Hendrickson (36, No. 8)
• Patrick Bertoletti (39, No. 9)
• Darrien Thomas (25, No. 12)
• George Chiger (45, No. 21)
• Ricardo Corbucci (No. 35)
• Max Stanford (36, unranked)
• Radim Dvoracek (33, unranked)
• King Yamamoto (40, unranked)
• Sean Yeager (32, unranked)
• William Claude Lyon (36, unranked)

Women's Competitors

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

(L-R Nick Wehry and Miki Sudo do a stare-down during a weigh-in for the 2024 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Championship at Hudson Yards in New York City on July 3, 2024. The contest will take place in Coney Island, New York on July 4, 2024. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

Competitors appearing in this year's women's competition include:

• Miki Sudo (38, No. 3)
• Michelle Lesco (40, No. 10)
• Mayoi Ebihara (28, No. 14)
• Larell Marie Mele (60, No. 22)
• Katie Prettyman (41, No. 23)
• Jocelyn Young (43, No, 29)
• Mary Bowers (N/A, No. 39)
• Cherish Brown (35, unranked)
• Julie Goldberg (38, unranked)
• Tandra Childress (38, unranked)
• Ellen Straub (29, unranked)
• Crystal Ocampo (28, unranked)
• Elizabeth Salgado (32, unranked)
• Rubianne Garcia (32, unranked)

Joey Chestnut's Ban

Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images

ATHENS, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 9: Competitive eater Joey Chestnut poses with his mustard yellow championship belt during a game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ball State Cardinals at Sanford Stadium on September 9, 2023 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)

Joey Chestnut, the most decorated competitor in the history of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, will not appear at the 2024 event.

Chestnut was banned from competing this year after he signed an endorsement deal with Impossible Foods to represent their plant-based hot dogs.

"For nearly two decades we have worked under the same basic hot dog exclusivity provisions. However, it seems that Joey and his managers have prioritized a new partnership with a different hot dog brand over our long-time relationship," Major League Eating said in the statement announcing the ban.

Chestnut told Emma Baccellieri of Sports Illustrated, "This was never an issue in the past. And they tried to dance around it—they changed a lot of terms, and then they escalated things to a degree they didn't imagine when they started leaking information and telling people I was banned and that I turned vegan, which clearly isn't the case."

Despite the disappointment of not competing on Coney Island this July 4, Chestnut does not hold a grudge and hopes to return to the event in the future. "I don't think the Shea brothers are bad people. I'm not burning any bridges. And I love it—I love the Fourth of July and that contest. I'm always willing to try. I don't hold grudges. So nothing is out of the question."

The 16-time Nathan's champion may not be part of this year's annual extravaganza, but he will compete against soldiers on Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas on July 4.

On Labor Day, he will compete against fellow competitive eating legend Takeru Kobayashi in a Netflix special event.