Ultimate Strongman finals coming to Telford

The national finals will take place as part of the two-day Telford Balloon Fiesta, with four hours of head-to-head competition set to take place over both days.

Twelve athletes will lift, carry, strain and shove their way towards the title.

Psyche Hudson, Telford & Wrekin Council's head of events, said she was delighted that Telford Balloon Fiesta had been chosen as the venue.

"The Ultimate Strongman event is coup for Telford, offering a very different attraction for the overall programme with added tension and thrills," she said.

"We are especially pleased that we have attracted the England and Wales finals to the town park for this epic battle of strength and I am sure that families will be very engaged by this fascinating competition."

Each strong man will face five disciplines that test pure strength, grip strength, technical ability and pain tolerance to the limit, overseen by five times UK’s Strongest Man, Glenn Ross.

“I don’t think Telford will have seen anything like Ultimate Strongman before, “ said Ross, “it’s going to be great to bring so many of the UK’s best strength athletes to such fantastic outdoor family festival”

Wales’s Strongest Man will take place on Saturday when the crowd’s favourites will be Channel 5 stars Richard Bessant, Ben ‘Badger’ Brunning and the hugely popular 6’6” Welsh Guardsman Gavin Bilton.

On Sunday, England’s strongest men will take to the Arena where among the favourites for glory will be Sheffield duo Paul Smith and Phil Roberts and defending champion Sean Logan.

Both England’s Strongest Man and Wales’s Strongest Man are being backed by Ketley-based MKM Building Supplies.

Mark Evans, branch director, said: "It's fantastic that we can be involved.

"“Telford has been very good to us since we opened here and it’s really important to us to be able to give back something to the community and bringing Strongman to the town is incredibly exciting.”

Wales’s Strongest Man Final kicks off at 1pm on Saturday 11 May with England’s Strongest Man Final the following day, Sunday 12 May again at 1pm. Both events take place at the Town Park’s QEII Arena.

Telford Balloon Fiesta is returning for its second year after being revived as part of the town's 50th anniversary celebrations in 2018.

It is 30 years since the first hot air balloon event in the town, and over 30,000 people turned out for its return.

Over 30 balloons are booked to fly at Telford Balloon Fiesta 2019 including machines and pilots from across Europe and the Middle East.