Defending champion Derek Lunsford will lead a group of bodybuilders into competition this weekend during the Mr. 2024 Olympia event in Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old faces a host of talented competitors, including past champions, an all-time great and several young stars looking to cement their status as the future of the sport.

Who is eligible for the event, when will it take place and who should you keep an eye on throughout the competition?

Find out with this preview of the bodybuilding extravaganza.

Friday October 11: Mr. Olympia preference (6 p.m.)

Saturday October 12: Mr. Olympia Final (7 p.m.)

The prize has yet to be announced, but the total prize money is expected to be more than $1.6 million, the highest in the event’s history.

• Derek Lunsford (USA)
• Hadi Choopan (Iran)
• Samson Dauda (United Kingdom)
• Theo Leguerrer (France)
• Rafael Brandao (Brazil)
• Martin Fitzwater (USA)
• Tonio Burton (USA)
• Akim Williams (USA)
• Brandon Curry (USA)
• William Bonac (Netherlands)
• Behrooz Tabani (Iran)
• Nathan De Asha (United Kingdom)
• John Jewett (USA)
• Mohamed Foda (Egypt)
• Jonatha Delarosa (USA)
• Chinedu Andrew Obiekea (United Arab Emirates)
• Hunter Labrada (USA)
• Bruno Santos (Brazil)

With Nick Walker’s unexpected late exit from the competition this year, the field has become even less predictable than it already was.

Lunsford is the defending champion and Choopan had a great competition two years ago. Both would be Mr. again on Saturday evening. could win the Olympia title in Las Vegas.

Brandon Curry won the event in 2019, finishing in second place twice (2020 and 2021) and fourth place twice (2022 and 2023).

Obiekea, better known as Andrew Jacked, lives up to the name and Dauda has been chasing the bodybuilding title for a while now.

Any one of these five competitors, and probably two or three others, could realistically win the event.

Yet Lunsford and Choopan are at the height of their profession. They have all worked on improving key areas of their physique. And after a second place last year, the Iranian is ready for a second title.

Choopan wins his second Mr. Olympia.