Charleston will soon be in the national spotlight. The city announced today it will be the home of America's First Strongest Man contest. Here's how the announcement breaks down.

The event will be over the July 4th holiday at Haddad Riverfront Park and it will be televised on national television. Powerhouses from across the country will be in town - meaning this event could be a big boost for our local economy.

The strongest man events are always a favorite, lifting cars, pulling busses. And now you'll get to catch those events in person.

It's an event that will just be open to American athletes and it's the first of it's kind to be televised. ESPN 2 is going to air the event.

City officials hope it won't just attract athletes, but also fans from not just West Virginia but all over the country. Thursday Phil Pfister, the 2006 World’s Strongest Man joined Governor Joe Manchin, Charleston Mayor Danny Jones and Kanawha County Commissioners.

They say it's an opportunity to showcase the state and the city and Pfister says it's an opportunity for him to give back. ”People over the last decade have wanted a strongman competition here in Charleston and say when are we going to see it. So it's a dream come true to bring it back to all the people that have supported me over the years and bring it back to the community that's given me the strength to compete as an athlete over the years."

Governor Joe Manchin actually went out to California earlier this year to watch the World’s Strongest Man competition. And he says he was able to see first hand the amount of excitement that comes with this type of event. In fact, state and local officials are hoping in 2009 to actually bring the world's strongest man competition to Charleston, but that's still in the works.