Choose Chicago

We did it -- again! 🏆 Chicago has been named Best Big City in the U.S. by the Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards for an unprecedented 8th consecutive year! 🎉 Over 575,000 readers from around the world cast their votes, and yet again Chicago came out on top. Thank you to all of our incredible partners in the tourism and hospitality community whose hard work and dedication ultimately led to this award. And thank you to each and every Chicagoan who goes out of their way to create welcoming experiences for our visitors. You are truly the reason we continue to win this award year after year! 🔗 Read all about what makes Chicago the Best Big City here: https://lnkd.in/eJdi4BEz

Thanks to all our Washington, DC area-based clients and partners who joined us for events this weekend!

Thanks to all who came out for last night's Student Partnership event at Navy Pier! We were joined by roughly 60 tourism, hospitality, and sports management students representing DePaul University, Kendall College, Roosevelt University, City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College, and Washburne Culinary & Hospitality Institute. The evening's program included a panel discussion featuring leaders in Chicago's hospitality community, a visit to Flyover Chicago, and dinner at Bar Sol. The Choose Chicago Student Partnership Program connects students to our dynamic, multi-faceted, and ever-evolving tourism and hospitality industry. Learn more about the program here: https://lnkd.in/gTDteian Shout out to our fabulous panelists, Samuel R Thomas, Jr., Dan Russell, Courtney Cawley Gray, Kelsey (O'Connor) Gray, and Juan D. Leyva, and our moderator Jordan Engerman for a great discussion!

Welcome to #TheaterSeason, Chicago! 🎭 Chicago is a hub for world-class theater, and this fall and winter is the perfect time to check out what's on stage. Dramas, comedies, musicals, dance, and more—you can find it all in Chicago this season. 🔗 Explore all the shows, in collaboration with the League of Chicago Theatres and Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE): https://lnkd.in/gbTB96tS

VAMOS FIRE! 🔥⚽️    We congratulate Chicago Fire FC on appointing Gregg Berhalter as the club’s new head coach and Director of Football.   "We're going to give everything we have to return this team to the top of Major League Soccer," Berhalter said. "Chicago is about community. It's also about sports, and that's what's exciting. It's a world-class city, a city that players would want to come to, and it's a soccer-rich city." The path to tomorrow starts today. #cf97 Chicago Sports Commission

It's official: The 2024 DNC drove unprecedented economic impact to Illinois and Chicago.   The transformational convention exceeded economic and community impact expectations thanks in large part to the commitment of the Chicago 2024 Host Committee and 2024 Democratic National Convention Committee to supporting local businesses.   Some highlights from the report:  • The DNC drove an estimated $371.4 million in total economic impact, generating $28.7 million in state and local tax revenues  • $75.5 million in Host Committee and DNCC total spending was within the city of Chicago, the highest local spend ever for a political convention  • Nearly half (47%) of the Host Committee’s discretionary spending supported minority- and women-owned businesses Thank you to the team at Tourism Economics for preparing a thorough and insightful study of this landmark event, the impact of which will be felt for years to come.    Read the full impact report here: https://lnkd.in/gUnkMHUs

Open House Chicago is this weekend! This free public event organized by the Chicago Architecture Center has offered behind-the-scenes access to the greatest spaces and places in Chicago since 2011. Get a peek behind the facades of more than 170 soaring skyscrapers, historic spaces, private residences, and more. It’s the perfect opportunity to experience the diversity and history of Chicago's unique architectural legacy. Learn more and plan your visits here: https://lnkd.in/gNkP75x5

We brought our #ChicagoStyle to Paris this week with a media and influencer event to promote Chicago in this key international market. Over 70 media, influencers, travel trade, and in-market industry partners joined the Choose Chicago Media Relations team to learn about the latest and greatest happenings in the Best Big City in the U.S. Special thanks to the "Architect of House Music," the legendary Chip E. (Chip Eberhart) for joining us for a Chicago House music dance party, celebrating 40 years of house music created in Chicago! Next stop: London!

Our team brought plenty of Chicago style to #IMEX24 in Las Vegas this week! IMEX is the largest trade show for the business events industry, and our Sales and Marketing departments sent a large delegation to represent Chicago. The Choose Chicago team hosted an opening night happy hour with live music from legendary House DJ Chip Eberhart (AKA Chip E.), took 250 appointments with meeting planners and buyers over three days, and led multiple group presentations promoting our capacity to host meetings and events of any size or profile. Maintaining a strong presence at key travel and meetings industry events is critical to driving future visitation and positive economic impact to Chicago.

Welcome to the tens of thousands of visitors in town for this Sunday's Bank of America Chicago Marathon! This morning, our CFO Jim Meyer joined representatives of Bank of America and Abbott, Marathon organizers, and some of the biggest names in long distance running in the U.S. to celebrate this weekend's race and officially open the Abbot Health and Fitness Expo 2024 at McCormick Place's Lakeside Center. Hundreds of runners and fans from around the world were gathered to pick up race packets and explore the Expo, which is free and open to the public through Saturday. More info on all things Marathon- and Expo-related here: https://lnkd.in/eBxNK6b