Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest will be held this year without fans due to coronavirus pandemic

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, one Fourth of July staple will continue.

Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs announced Tuesday that its annual hot dog eating contest in New York would be held this year but under modified conditions. Instead of the traditonal outdoor venue in Brooklyn's Coney Island, the event this year will be held at a private location without fans with COVID-19 safety measures in place.

"We're ecstatic to make the announcement that the Hot Dog-Eating Contest will take place this year," James Walker, Nathan's Famous Senior Vice President, told ABC 7 in New York City. "2020 has been a year for the history books, and the realization that this storied July 4 tradition would be able to occur, is a great feeling.

"With that being said, our country and our world has endured so much in the last couple of months, that we'd be remiss if we didn't use this moment to honor those that have done so much for each of us during this time."

The competition will take place with five participants instead of the usual 15.

Nathan's plans to donate 100,000 hot dogs to food banks in New York City, but this year, it will also use the contest's platform to raise awareness for essential workers in New York City.

In recent years, the hot dog eating contest has been dominated by two champions: Joey Chestnut on the men's side and Miki Sudo on the women's. Sudo has won the women's contest six years in a row, while Chestnut has won 12 of the last 13 years. Chestnut also holds the men's world record of 74 hot dogs in a 10-minute period.

Sudo and Chestnut both plan to compete in this year's contest.

The event will be televised at noon ET on ESPN.