McCormick Place

McCormick Place McCormick Place is the premier convention facility in North America.
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McCormick Place, located on Chicago's lakefront, is comprised of four state-of-the-art buildings. These buildings have a combined total of 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, 1.2 million square feet all on one level, making it the nation's largest convention center. Owned the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA), McCormick Place attracts close to 3 million visitors each year.

06/03/2026

There is no easier place to travel to and from than Chicago. With two world-class international airports bringing travelers from over 260 destinations worldwide, Chicago is one of the top destinations in the country for overnight business travel. 🛫

Both the Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport are located within 20 miles of McCormick Place, and their world-class international airports and robust network of direct flights help ensure seamless travel to and from your event for attendees from all over the globe.

Thanks to our broad-reaching transportation system, traveling to McCormick Place is easy and straightforward for international event organizers and attendees alike. ️🌎

June is a month of multitudes at McCormick Place!Between a mix of consumer and corporate conventions, meet-ups for car e...
06/01/2026

June is a month of multitudes at McCormick Place!

Between a mix of consumer and corporate conventions, meet-ups for car enthusiasts and competition-level athletes, and ending the month with a celebration for the 150th anniversary of the ALA, we are excited to welcome a wide range of events to our campus this June at McCormick Place.

June convention center events include:
• 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology ASCO Annual Meeting
• Oddities & Curiosities Expo Chicago
• 2026 KeHE Holiday Show
•️ Static Car Show 2026
•️ Junior Volleyball Association Windy City Round-Up Volleyball Tournament
•️ A3 Automate 2026
• The American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference & Exhibits..and more!

📆 Note: This post lists events that have elected to be publicly listed on the McCormick Place Convention Center online events calendar; it does not include every convention center event.

Happy opening day to ASCO!The 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting is more than a conference – it’s...
05/29/2026

Happy opening day to ASCO!

The 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting is more than a conference – it’s considered *the* place to be for groundbreaking science, innovation, and connection that come together to shape the future of cancer care, and it starts TODAY throughout the McCormick Place South, North, West, and Lakeside Center buildings and the Arie Crown Theater.

The stage is set, our campus teams are ready, and we cannot wait to hear from attendees about the networking and connections created at this year's Annual Meeting.

05/28/2026

Set for What’s Next: Sustainable Events ♻️

Thanks to the amazing efforts of National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show exhibitors, Freeman teams, Fight2Feed volunteers, and the McCormick Place Sustainability team, this year’s event donation efforts will be one for the books.

Exhibitor booths were offered the opportunity to place green FIGHT2FEED stickers on any items they wanted to donate at show-end, including both non-food and food items. As soon as the show floor closed, our non-profit partners at Fight2Feed brought their volunteer teams onto the expo floors in South, North, and Lakeside Center, working furiously to collect items during load-out. With the help of Freeman crews, items were collected in set locations in each hall, from which they were loaded onto trucks for transportation to the Fight2Feed kitchens at McCormick Place for sorting.

We’ll have final numbers for you soon, but first we want to celebrate these amazing teams who came together to create increased sustainability in both the restaurant and events industries – way to go, everyone!

Expectations Evolve. We Help You Scale Responsibly ♻At McCormick Place, our teams manage complex event scaling while sup...
05/26/2026

Expectations Evolve. We Help You Scale Responsibly ♻

At McCormick Place, our teams manage complex event scaling while supporting organizational sustainability goals, from environmental impact tracking to supporting EIC Platinum Certification-awarded events. From food waste-to-energy programs to industry-leading bird-safe initiatives and LEED-certified facilities, sustainability is embedded into campus operations.

McCormick Place Convention Center.
Built for scale. Powered by Chicago. Designed for what’s next.

05/25/2026

Happy Memorial Day from McCormick Place. 🎗️

As we remember and honor those who today stands for, we wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day.

Hospitality is a form of show business, and Oak View Group Hospitality McCormick Place team recognizes that guests expec...
05/23/2026

Hospitality is a form of show business, and Oak View Group Hospitality McCormick Place team recognizes that guests expect an enriched experience filled with imaginative sights, aromas, sounds, and flavors. 🧑‍🍳

Food becomes exciting, served with speed and embracing the diverse flavors, brands, and cultures found in the neighboring communities.

Immersed in the culinary richness of a city like Chicago, the Director of Culinary Innovations, Executive Chef, and entire team are passionate about showcasing the vibrant flavors that define our city’s iconic neighborhoods. McCormick Place celebrates Chicago’s diversity and takes pride in delivering an authentic, best-in-class experience for every event.

📸: OVGH McCormick Place Executive Chef Gregory Pittman demonstrates cooking techniques in a healthy cooking activation at the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) 2026 Annual Meeting at McCormick Place.

05/22/2026

Best-kept convention secrets in Chicago? How about the private busway connecting McCormick Place event shuttles and downtown hotels! 🚇

This 2.5-mile privately-accessible busway is a must-have for event organizers arranging shuttlebuses for convention attendees. Traveling through Grant Park along the Metra Electric line, this road bypasses downtown traffic, moving attendees smoothly from their hotels to the multiple covered shuttle drop off locations on the McCormick Place campus.

Contact your Event Manager or submit an RFP today to find out how this transportation opportunity can be used in your next campus event: https://www.mccormickplace.com/book-event/

05/20/2026

Something new has sprung on the rooftop 🌱✨

Seedling transfers are officially underway at McCormick Place — kicking off another growing season with our partners at Windy City Harvest.

Grown right here on-site by their incredible apprenticeship program, these fresh ingredients are just getting started… and soon, they’ll make their way onto your plate 👀🍽️

From rooftop rows to menu moments:
🌱 Fresh herbs & produce grown above the city
👩‍🌾 Hands-on training for future growers
🐝 Honey bee hives for both pollination and local honey harvesting
🍴 Seasonal dishes you can taste all year long

Keep an eye out — you’ll be seeing (and tasting) these ingredients across menus soon.

⭐ FUN FACT: Did you know that May 20 is World Bee Day? 🐝

05/18/2026

Big builds. Bigger ideas. 🔥

At the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show at McCormick Place, the show floor turns into a full-scale experience – where every booth is designed to stop you in your tracks.

Think:
✨ Immersive brand activations
🍴 Live demos + tastings
🤖 Tech-powered exhibits
🏗️ Builds that bring kitchens to life

With 2,000+ exhibitors and 900+ categories, this isn’t just a trade show – it’s a city of innovation built from the ground up.

From first look to final bite, every step is designed to inspire.

Happy opening day to the 2026 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show! 💥👩‍🍳Welcome to the world's m...
05/16/2026

Happy opening day to the 2026 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show! 💥👩‍🍳

Welcome to the world's most influential showcase of foodservice innovation, running May 16-19 at McCormick Place. Thousands of foodservice professionals are discovering the latest industry trends in robotics, plant-based offerings, sustainable packaging, and more.

We'll see you on the show floor!

👩‍🍳 🍽️ 🤝 🤖 ⚡️

Catering at  Place: Global and Local FlavorsMeeting attendees want experiences that authentically reflect the local dini...
05/15/2026

Catering at Place: Global and Local Flavors

Meeting attendees want experiences that authentically reflect the local dining culture. In Chicago, that means cuisines that represent our 77 diverse global neighborhoods.

New catering menu items include an immersive culinary journey through the authentic flavors of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods, including Pilsen, Chinatown, Humboldt Park, and more!
🌮 Pictured: Pilsen/Little Village - Mini Al Pastor Tacos with smoky charred pineapple salsa and hand-pressed tortillas.

🍽 Choose Chicago recently highlighted the value of creating local-influenced event menus – read the article:
https://bit.ly/4c6pmYS

Convention Center Sustainability is an important commitment at  Place, and our Sustainability team works with event orga...
05/14/2026

Convention Center Sustainability is an important commitment at Place, and our Sustainability team works with event organizers, partners, and our internal stakeholders to compile metrics for monthly reports. ♻

Aside from April's Recyclepalooza initiative, here are some of our biggest sustainability wins during the month:
• 122.39 tons of concrete recycled on campus
• 6 tons of organic waste composted via Grind2Energy
• 2,618 boxed lunches donated to during Academy of Neurology

Thank you to everyone who helped us break records this April!

05/13/2026

Chicago Delivers More Than Square Footage. It Delivers Buyers.

As a Fortune 500 headquarters hub with global airlift and a central U.S. location, Chicago drives high-value attendance from decision-makers across industries. This Tier-1 global city boasts two international airports, an expansive, interconnected transit system, and an award-winning convention center that will place your next event perfectly for attendee engagement.

McCormick Place Convention Center.
Built for scale. Powered by Chicago. Designed for what’s next.

ICYMI - The McCormick Place May newsletter has dropped, and we are celebrating citywide and campus successes at McCormic...
05/12/2026

ICYMI - The McCormick Place May newsletter has dropped, and we are celebrating citywide and campus successes at McCormick Place this month, including:

• Voting for the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 Best Big City in the U.S.
• Recap from last week's Culinary and Hospitality Marketplace
• Record-breaking e-waste collection: 23,560 lbs.
And more!

📧 Join our newsletter to stay up-to-date on campus news - click our to sign up!

05/12/2026

Spring is here, and our Rooftop Terrace Garden is buzzing! 🐝🌱

This season, honey bees are hard at work among the herbs, veggies, and blooms that make up this usable event space — creating habitat for pollinators while generating rooftop honey you can see right on-site. 🍯

Rooftop pollinators like bees help support plant growth and biodiversity in urban spaces, strengthening our connection to the crops that end up in dishes you’ll taste at your event. 🌿🥗

How cool would it be to gather among growing crops and watch nature in action? 🌞✨

✨ Taste. Refine. Elevate. ✨ Step into an exclusive pre-event tasting to explore and enhance your premium menu offerings....
05/08/2026

✨ Taste. Refine. Elevate. ✨

Step into an exclusive pre-event tasting to explore and enhance your premium menu offerings. Work directly with our chefs to sample dishes, ask questions, and provide feedback — creating a personalized, top-tier event experience. 🍴

This is the experience that makes your event truly stand out.

Would you savor this behind-the-scenes opportunity? 👇

It's a beautiful month for a run, but did you know that some winter events bring exercise INSIDE at McCormick Place? 🏃We...
05/07/2026

It's a beautiful month for a run, but did you know that some winter events bring exercise INSIDE at McCormick Place? 🏃

We're throwing back to the Chicago Auto Show ""Miles Per Hour Run,"" a 2.4-mile course through McCormick Place. Developed by the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) in partnership with the Chicago Auto Show, this one-hour run challenges participants to cover as much distance as possible in 60 minutes.

Runners loop a course that winds through the Show floor, past incredible vehicle displays and activations, and across the Lake Shore Drive skybridge to the Lakeside Center with its Lake Michigan views. It's one more way that events are creating unique experiences for their attendees every day in Chicago.

📸 Photo credit: Victor Hilitski

Will I see you tonight on a downtown train? 🚆Welcome to the Metra Commuter Rail, an 11-line train system that includes t...
05/06/2026

Will I see you tonight on a downtown train? 🚆

Welcome to the Metra Commuter Rail, an 11-line train system that includes the Metra Electric, a train with a station inside of McCormick Place! This train travels from downtown Chicago's Millennium Station south to University Park, with a 7-minute average travel time from campus to downtown.

The Metra Electric line station inside of McCormick Place is located on Level 2.5 of the Grand Concourse in the South Building.

With Metra access on site, traveling to and from McCormick Place is easy and straightforward for event organizers and attendees alike. ️🚉

BIG NEWS 🚨 23,560 lbs. of e-waste was recycled during Recyclepalooza 2026 at McCormick Place! 💥At this April's Recyclepa...
05/06/2026

BIG NEWS 🚨 23,560 lbs. of e-waste was recycled during Recyclepalooza 2026 at McCormick Place! 💥

At this April's Recyclepalooza campus event, our Green Team hosted a three-day Earth Month drop-off campaign encouraging everyone who works on the McCormick Place campus to bring in items for recycling and donation, including hard-to-recycle items like e-waste. Last year's donation efforts resulted in over a ton of e-waste recycled, but our 2026 efforts scaled that up to eleven:
• 23,560 lbs. (11.78T) of e-waste was recycled as a result of Recyclepalooza 2026!

Aside from garages, basements, and closets cleaned out, this means that almost 12 tons of materials have been prevented from ending up in landfills. ♻️

Congratulations to everyone involved!

🌮🎉 Cinco de Mayo, Chicago style! We’re celebrating with flavors inspired by neighborhoods like Pilsen and Little Village...
05/05/2026

🌮🎉 Cinco de Mayo, Chicago style!

We’re celebrating with flavors inspired by neighborhoods like Pilsen and Little Village — where culture, community, and incredible Mexican cuisine come to life. 🇲🇽

From classic favorites to bold, vibrant dishes, it’s all about honoring the flavors that make Chicago’s food scene so special.

Good food. Great culture. Even better company. 🙌

What’s on your Cinco de Mayo plate? 👇

May the Fourth be with you ✨🚀📸 C2E2 2026 at McCormick Place
05/04/2026

May the Fourth be with you ✨🚀

📸 C2E2 2026 at McCormick Place

One Expo Hall; Endless Possibilities.Welcome to Hall F in the McCormick Place West Building! Whether set for an expo, me...
05/04/2026

One Expo Hall; Endless Possibilities.

Welcome to Hall F in the McCormick Place West Building! Whether set for an expo, meeting, convention, or general session, Hall F provides event organizers with a space that can be expertly customized to meet their vision and attendees' needs.

Welcome to May at McCormick Place!With events ranging the gamut from medical and engineering to culinary and legal confe...
05/01/2026

Welcome to May at McCormick Place!

With events ranging the gamut from medical and engineering to culinary and legal conferences, we are excited to welcome a wide range of STEM events this May at McCormick Place, including:
🩺 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) 2026 Annual Meeting
🔬 Digestive Disease Week
⚙️ The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Biannual Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition 2026
⚖️ 2026 Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) Global Institute
🍽️ 2026 National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show
🧪2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting

| MPEA | The Collection at McCormick Square | Choose Chicago | Meet In Chicago

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Wednesday's Culinary & Hospitality Marketplace: Doing Business with McCormick Pla...
04/30/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Wednesday's Culinary & Hospitality Marketplace: Doing Business with McCormick Place!

This event brought together suppliers, buyers, and industry partners to explore opportunities across food & beverage, hospitality, and operational services, allowing attendees to connect with campus decision-makers, showcase products, and build partnerships that will extend across McCormick Place events.

Hosted in collaboration with the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council, guest speakers included leaders from our Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Chicago and Marriott Marquis Chicago hotels; our MPEA Business Diversity and Procurement teams; Oak View Group Hospitality; vendor partners Chicago French Press and Sugar Bliss; and a special welcome address from MPEA CEO Larita Clark.

Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to future collaborations!

Address

2301 S Martin Luther King Drive
Chicago, IL
60616

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