Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest

Each May, the banks of the Mississippi River in Memphis fill with the smoke of hundreds of barbecue teams competing for the title of world champion. The Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest has grown into the largest pork barbecue competition on the planet, with teams travelling from across the United States and internationally to compete.

Competition categories cover whole hog, ribs, shoulder and more, judged by a large panel of certified barbecue judges over several days of cooking, smoking and, for many teams, genuinely elaborate campsite setups that turn the riverfront into something between a competition and a festival in its own right.

For visitors, the event is as much about soaking up the atmosphere and sampling smoke-scented barbecue from teams representing every regional style as it is about the competition itself — a fitting tribute to a city whose own barbecue tradition is one of America's most distinctive.