WCBCC Ticket & Experience Information
Event Details
The 47th World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest will be held May 14 – 17, 2025 at Liberty Park in Memphis, TN
The famous Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is the world’s largest pork barbecue contest. For 47 years legions of barbecue fans and competition cooking teams have converged at “Memphis in May” to celebrate barbecue and decide who’s the best. Attendees are surrounded by the pinnacle of barbecue and will enjoy a plethora of free demonstrations, information sessions, sampling, nightly entertainment and much more. It’s a feast for the senses and the biggest backyard party in Memphis since 1978 and still cookin’!
Note the barbecue cooked by teams is to prepare for the competition and judging. Due to Health Department regulations, teams are not allowed to sell or provide barbecue to the public.
There are plenty of ways to taste the ‘cue! Check out these options below for ways you can enjoy championship-quality barbecue at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest!
2025 World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest Tickets
NEW for 2025 – Combo Tickets!
Save $$ and get more with a Combo Ticket!
Upgrade your ticket by bundling an admission ticket with an exciting barbecue experience and save $$. On sale now!
Your choice:
Tour Combo – Kingsford Tour of Champions + Festival Admission. $42 each (Save $13)
Feast Combo – BBQ Alley + Festival Admission. $37 each (Save $13)
Scroll down to learn more about BBQ Alley and Kingsford Tour of Champions.
Click here to buy combo tickets.
Daily Tickets
Single Day Tickets, good any day: on sale soon
4-Day Passes: on sale soon
2025 VIPit Passes ON SALE NOW!
The ultimate VIP barbecue experience
From cooking demonstrations to tours of competitor’s team spaces, you’ll be shown the things that everyone wishes they could see. This is the ultimate barbecue experience and always sells out, so act fast. 2025 VIPit tickets are $595 each
Click here to buy VIPit passes
Your VIPit experience will include:
- No planning needed – a mouth watering daily itinerary led by knowledgeable and experienced hosts to make the most of your visit.
- Several rounds of meeting & interacting with competition teams.
- Private VIP-only area
- Private air-conditioned restrooms
- Food & beverage daily (wear loose clothing)
- Parking close to the gate (additional purchase)
- In and out privileges
- Cooking demonstrations (& tastings too, of course)
- A behind-the-scenes judging class with a certified Memphis in May judge
- VIP escort to visit Blind Judging in the Judges Tent
- Cool MIM merchandise to commemorate your experience
- Up-close meet and greet with the greatest names in barbecue like Myron Mixon, Tuffy Stone, Moe Cason, Heath Riles and more!
- Always additional VIPit-only surprises every year!
International ticket holders – Your passes will be available for pickup at Will Call the first day of the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.
Click here to buy VIPit passes
VIPit sponsored by:
Mouth Watering Experiences available for everyone:
Taste and Learn! Enhance your visit with a WCBCC barbecue experience such as the Kingsford Tour of Champions or BBQ Alley available at checkout with your purchase of any admission ticket. Check out details from last year’s WCBCC below:
Kingsford Tour Of Champions
The general public has access to taste and judge barbecue from the teams competing by purchasing a ticket for the Kingsford Tour of Champions. This unique barbecue experience gives you the chance to judge and sample barbecue and listen to teams explain their craft. Each tour will last approximately an hour and a half. The 2024 Kingsford Tour of Champions teams include:
Memphis BBQ Supply
Crosstown Neighborhood BBQ
Triple H BBQ
Swine & Dine
Bubba Grills
Blues Hogs
Russell’s Dam Good BBQ
Slapjomamma BBQ
The Hogfather
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q
Mr. Greens BBQ
Willingham’s
Cadillac Grillz
The Pork University
Prime Time BBQ
Tippy Q
Too Sauced to Pork
The Shed
Tickets for the KOTC will be available when purchasing general admission tickets.
Kingsford Tour Of Champions by:
BBQ Alley with Big Green Egg & Friends
BBQ Alley by Big Green Egg & Friends is a tasting experience at WCBCC! This special area features four well-known barbecue restaurants plus Big Green Egg serving up what everyone comes to the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest to experience – top-notch barbecue! Limited quantities of $25 tickets are sold online and in person. Check out more details below!
Tickets: Available to purchase with your general admission ticket and will be available at the BBQ Alley area during WCBCC.
What:
is ‘cue for the people and they mean it! Four well-known barbecue restaurants and pitmasters like Mel Chmilar and Craig McPherson”CMac” will serve a variety of barbecue including pork ribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, and poultry with sides. It’s a barbecue party all to the tunes of DJ MadEFX, plus the chance to win a Big Green Egg!
A maximum of 250 people per session will be served. If they sell out online, you’ll still have the opportunity to buy them the day of the event. Please note that BBQ Alley is an add-on and a general admission ticket must still be purchased to gain access into the park.
BBQ Alley sponsored by:
Cooker Caravan with Heath Riles BBQ
This is an experience like no other offered by Memphis in May through the generosity of our teams. The tour meets outside of judging HQ and is led by volunteers every half hour of each day between 11:00 and 3:30.Teams, which will be scheduled individually, will give a short presentation to the groups. No extra charge.
The team will discuss and show things such as:
- grilling equipment
- how the team prepares barbecue for the competition
- grilling tips
- why the team competes
FREE EXPERIENCES
Home Depot Outdoor Kitchen
The Home Depot Outdoor Kitchen will present star-studded demonstrations including a meet & greet with free samples following the demos. Learn from legendary pitmasters like Chris Lilly, Moe Cason, Megan & Jason Day, Tuffy Stone, “Grill Girl” Robyn Lindars, Rasheed Phillips, Mike Starr, “BBQ Ninja” Craig Verhage & Leslie Scott, “Bama Grill Master” Tim Van Doren, Joe Davidson, and many more.
McCormick Demo Stage
The McCormick Demo Stage brings wide variety take-home culinary tips that will make you the hit of the neighborhood with dishes to complement traditional barbecue, like Triple Pickle Gold Chicken Thighs, Smoked Pork Cowboy Sushi, Grilled Shrimp Salad with Stubb’s BBQ Sauce AND a special meet & greet with Rocky Stubblefield of Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Sauce with free samples.
2024 Additional Information
Admission
- Single- Day Tickets are good for any day of the WCBCC.
- No refunds, rain checks or exchanges.
- Admission to WCBCC is first-come, first-served.
General Admission tickets include access to the 2024 WCBCC.
General admission tickets do not include barbecue tastings from teams competing in the 2024 WCBCC. Kingsford’s Tour of Champions and BBQ Alley add-on experience offer tours, tasting, and barbecue education opportunities.
Food And Drink
- Some food may need to be purchased with cash. ATMs are available at WCBCC for your convenience. A photo I.D. is required for all alcohol purchases.
The World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest will take place rain or shine. If severe weather should arise, refer to the WCBCC Facebook page for immediate information.
For Your Safety
- If WCBCC reaches capacity, for the sake of crowd safety and enjoyment, Memphis in May International Festival, Inc. reserves the right to refuse admission unless a patron has a ticket purchased in advance.
- All packages and bags are subject to search
- Photo I.D.’s are required for all alcohol
- Memphis in May International Festival, Inc. reserves the right to refuse admission or to eject any person violating rules; local, state and federal laws; or whose conduct is deemed illegal, disorderly, dangerous or offensive.
