Montreal, Canada, July 27: At this year's Joe Weider's Olympia Weekend (October 13-16) the Friday night program of October 14 will showcase a unique evening of Beauty and Muscle. Beauty in the show-stopping shape of the Figure and Fitness Olympia events, and muscle in the rugged form of some of the world's top pro men bodybuilders battling for a place in the next day's Mr. Olympia finals.

The latter event will be called the Mr. Olympia Wildcard Showdown and is another exciting innovation by the International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness (IFBB) and American Media Inc. (AMI), co-promoters of the Olympia Weekend.

The Wildcard Showdown constitutes a last-gasp qualifying contest for the Mr. Olympia, in which the winner not only goes forward to compete against Ronnie, Jay, Gunter and company 24 hours later but also captures the winner-takes-all cash prize of $10,000.

This eleventh hour chance to qualify for the Mr. Olympia contest underlines the IFBB/AMI's combined commitment to grow the sport and to add even more excitement and thrills to an already packed Olympia program.

To see who will be the last man standing in the Wildcard Showdown, book your ticket to the event now. Full Olympia Weekend ticket details are available at http://www.2005olympia.com/. Continue to check that site and Muscle & Fitness and FLEX magazines for Olympia Weekend updates.

The Mr. Olympia Wildcard Showdown is open to IFBB pros who finished in the top ten at IFBB pro contests in the current competitive season (2004 Mr. Olympia and all competitions thereafter). Applications must be received by August 15 at which time the promoters (IFBB/AMI) will announce the selected line-up.

*Note: Non-qualifying Mr. Olympia competitors among the top ten finalists at the Europa Super Show on September 17 and Charlotte Pro on October 1 will also be considered for the Mr. Olympia Wildcard Showdown.