The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition will become available on newsstands around the globe soon enough and apparently the special issue requires more publicity than just its reputation among men. Thus Sports Illustrated has organized the Swimville Fan Festival, a fan event in Nashville that will feature a performance by the hometown Kings of Leon, according to The Tennessean.
Most of the events associated with Swimville will take place on Broadway in the Music City on February 11 and 12, which if you're familiar with the region, is not the kind of weather we normally associate with bikinis. The models from the issue will be on hand but needless to say they'll be wearing more clothes than many attendees were hoping for. The concert with the Kings of Leon, which also features Mikky Ekko, will blessedly be indoors at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Feb. 11. It, unfortunately, will not be one of the free activities associated with the festival.
"We wanted to partner with a town that wanted to help us build the most consumer-facing brand in swimsuit," said publisher Brendan Ripp. "Nashville is just a great town. It's a sports town, it's a music town, it's a college town and it's a fun town. We're bringing the swimsuit franchise to fans of Sports Illustrated."
No word yet on whether the magazine aims to make Swimville a yearly thing, or if it will move locations in years to come. We'll have to see how attendance pans out for this year's event.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hardly needs the promotion: Last year it celebrated its fiftieth edition, which was "read" by more than 70 million viewers, both subscribers to the magazine and one-off purchasers.
