Thousands of runners wore revealing swimwear at an annual bikini beach run in 'Thai Sin City' Pattaya on Saturday.

The crowd of models, influencers, and fitness enthusiasts gathered on Pattaya Beach for the anticipated 'Pattaya International Bikini Beach Race 2023' on October 28.

Clad in barely-there swimsuits to show off their figures, the participants ran along a five-kilometre stretch on the shore, starting and ending at the Pattaya Beach Central area.

Authorities estimated around 5,000 attendees turned up this year, compared to the 3,000 contestants last year.

The yearly marathon is part of the Pattaya government's drive to brand the tourist city as a sports and fitness hub for tourists.

Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1960s when the U.S. military had bases in Thailand. In the ensuing years, the coastal resort spawned into a semi-barbarous sex-tourism hellscape.

Embarrassed officials have made progress in gentrifying the region with family tourism projects but a ravenous nightlife industry and corrupt police have hampered their efforts, with undesirables from all nations still attracted to the seedy city.