US Open of Surfing set to return to Huntington Beach, drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The world's best surfers are more than 4,000 miles away in Tahiti, putting on a show during this year's Summer Olympic Games.

Many of them will soon be making their way to Huntington Beach for the start of the U.S. Open of Surfing.

Kelly Miller with Visit Huntington Beach is in Tahiti catching all the action as Surf City, USA gets ready to host the world's largest surfing competition next week.

"I think you're starting to see the magic is coming back both in the water and on the shore," Miller said. "Some really good competitors are showing up and I think -- knock on wood -- I think the waves are predicted to be epic for the final weekend of the Open."

The city is expecting up to 450,000 visitors over the nine-day event.

Miller said this year's Open has a lot excitement behind it, coming off the heels of the Olympics.

"Some competitors will be flying back depending on how they do down here -- because we're in a wait period right now, so there's no surfing today. We hopefully will have quarterfinals, semis and the finals later on this week, so some of it depends on how it comes here and how soon they can get back to the Open," he said.

Downtown Huntington Beach businesses like Huntington Surf and Sport expect to benefit from the larger crowds.

"A lot of the U.S. Open gear has been pretty popular," owner Taylor Pai said.

Pai added that the Open is one of the many events that make Huntington Beach special, and visitors will be able to enjoy everything the city has to offer.

"The weather dictates how it goes, and it looks like there's going to be good sunshine so it should be a fun summer week," Pai said.

The U.S. Open of Surfing kicks off on Aug. 3 with three days of longboard competition before the surfing competition gets underway on Aug. 6.