It is held each year on July 4 at Nathan's Famous' original, and best-known, restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City.

The contest has gained public attention since the mid-2000s due to the stardom of Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut.

The field of about 20 contestants typically includes the following: The competitors stand on a raised platform behind a long table with drinks and Nathan's Famous hot dogs in buns.

The contestant who consumes (and keeps down) the most hot dogs and buns (HDB) in ten minutes is declared the winner.

The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held at the original location on Coney Island most years since about 1972, usually in conjunction with Independence Day.

In recent years, a considerable amount of pomp and circumstance have surrounded the days leading up to the event, which has become an annual spectacle of competitive entertainment.

On the morning of the event, they have a heralded arrival to Coney Island on the "bus of champions" and are called to the stage individually during introductions.

Despite substantial damage suffered at Nathan's due to Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the location was repaired, reopened, and the 2013 event was held as scheduled.

At the 2007 contest, the results were delayed to review whether defending champion Kobayashi had vomited (also known as a "Roman method incident" or "reversal of fortune") in the final seconds of regulation.

[14] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contest was held without spectators at an indoor location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and only five eaters competed in each category instead of the usual 15.

Kobayashi again refused to compete in 2011, but instead conducted his own hot dog eating exhibition, consuming 69 HDB, seven more than Chestnut accomplished in the Nathan's contest.

[20] The sports website Deadspin deemed Kobayashi's solo appearance "an improbably perfect 'up yours' to the Nathan's hot dog eating contest.

"[21] Chestnut was banned from the 2024 contest due to signing a deal with Impossible Food, which sells plant based products including hot dogs.

[26] In 2010, Nathan's promoter Mortimer "Morty" Matz admitted to having fabricated the legend of the 1916 start date with a man named Max Rosey in the early 1970s as part of a publicity stunt.

[27] According to that legend, on July 4, 1916, four immigrants held a hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous stand on Coney Island to settle an argument about who was the most patriotic.

[28] Others described Jimmy Durante, who was not an immigrant, as competing in that all-immigrant inaugural contest, which was judged by Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker.

[29] Another co-founder describes the event as beginning "in 1917, and pitted Mae West's father, Jack, against entertainer Eddie Cantor.

[27] Luther Frazier Jim MattnerIndependence Day ^a final total may have been affected by interruption from protestor[92]^b though Walter Paul's 1967 feat is documented in multiple UPI press accounts from the time, he has also been mentioned in passing in more recent press accounts for supposedly establishing the contest's then-record 17 hot dogs consumed; several other people have similarly been credited for records of 13+1⁄2, 17+1⁄2, or 18+1⁄2 hot dogs consumed; the following feats are not known to be documented more fully in press accounts from the time of their occurrence and, as such, may not be credible and are not included in the Results table above: "Several years" before 1986: unspecified contestant, 13+1⁄2[69] 1979: unspecified contestant, 17+1⁄2[65] 1978: Walter Paul (described as being from Coney Island, Brooklyn), 17[93] 1974: unspecified contestant, 16[76] 1968: Walter Paul (described as "a rotund Coney Island carnival caretaker"), 17[64] 1959: Peter Washburn (described as "a one-armed Brooklyn Carnival worker"), 18+1⁄2[94] or 17[57] 1959: Paul Washburn (described as a carnival worker from Brooklyn), 17+1⁄2[61] 1959: Walter Paul (described as a 260-pound man from Brooklyn), 17[73] 1957: Paul Washburn, 17+1⁄2[63] ^a the 1974 Labor Day and 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1990 Independence Day competitions ended in ties ^a the 1974 Labor Day and 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1990 Independence Day competitions ended in ties ^a prior to restructuring the competition to offer women's-only contests, the media was known to use the term "women's category" to describe female participation;[95] the top-finishers of the "women's category" in this era included, for 2003: Sonya Thomas (25), 2004: Sonya Thomas (32), 2005: Sonya Thomas (37), 2006: Sonya Thomas (37), 2007: Sonya Thomas (39), 2008: Sonya Thomas (34), 2009: Sonya Thomas (41), and 2010: Sonya Thomas (36)[96] In 2003, ESPN aired the contest for the first time on a tape-delayed basis.

), "Nathan's King ready, with relish" (Daily News) and "To be frank, Fridge faces a real hot-dog consumer" (ESPN).