After a hiatus of seven years, Mr Harrington has announced it is time to bring the event back to Wanaka and has scheduled it to run for three days, depending on snow conditions, between August 29 and September 12.
Mr Harrington (44) lived in Wanaka in the early 1990s and moved overseas in 2002 to live and work in various places.
He is now in Australia.
During his years in Wanaka, he organised an annual big mountain skiing and snowboarding showcase, including a popular snowboard jump in downtown Wanaka.
The street-style big air events began to attract crowds of up to 10,000 but the entire event was put on hold after sponsorship became harder to get.
In 2003, another promoter advertised a similar event, so Mr Harrington put his 2003 World Heli Challenge on hold.
The other challenge never eventuated.
Mr Harrington said the 2009 event had attracted international television coverage and would feature in the next Warren Miller movie, which should attract "80 million eyeballs".
Warren Miller Entertainment has been producing adventure movies for cinema and television for 61 years and Lake Wanaka Tourism has been asked if members can help find hosts for the film crew.
Athletes must pay $3000 to enter, so the event can happen without having to secure a major sponsor, Mr Harrington said.
However, some sponsorship has been secured, he said.
Despite the entry fee, some of the biggest names in big mountain sport were entering because of respect for the event, Mr Harrington said.
Wanaka entrants include Jossi and Byron Wells and Janina and Maria Kuzma.
United States skiers Matthew Annetts and Ralph Backstrom and Australians Rachel Sheidow, Chris Booth, Andrea Berchtold, Charlie Timmins and Boen Ferguson are also on Mr Harrington's start list.
Mr Harrington works as a photographer for surf, snow and travel publications and worked for Warren Miller Entertainment in Wanaka in 1993.
Mr Harrington said he had secured more than 600 hours of television coverage across Europe and North America and on large screens in train stations and in several European airports.
Channel 10 Australia would be sending a sports host for two weeks to produce 5pm, 10pm news features, Sports Tonight segments and a one-hour prime time television show, Mr Harrington said.