A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite them accordingly.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company and is held at a hotel or convention center in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area during the week following Memorial Day weekend. Since 2011, it has been held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center hotel in National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. It was previously held at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington D.C. from 1996 to 2010.
The 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held from May 28 to May 30, 2013 at the Gaylord National in Oxon Hill, Maryland and was broadcast live on ESPN3, ESPN2, and ESPN. For the first time, the competition included a vocabulary quiz in addition to the usual spelling challenge. Arvind Mahankali of Bayside, New York won the competition and received the $30,000 grand prize. Including local feeder tournaments, an estimated 11 million children participated.
The 87th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held from May 27 to May 29, 2014 at the Gaylord National in Oxon Hill, Maryland and was broadcast live on ESPN3, the semi-finals on ESPN2, with the final rounds live on ESPN. Ansun Sujoe of Fort Worth, Texas and Sriram Hathwar of Painted Post, New York won the competition, making the 87th Bee the twelfth in the past sixteen competitions to have an Indian-American champion.
The 25th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia on May 22, 1952, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 33rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, District of Columbia on June 8–9, 1960, by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 38th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on June 9–10, 1965, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 68th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held on May 31 and June 1, 1995, at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 52nd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on June 6–7, 1979, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 40th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 7–8, 1967, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 47th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 5–6, 1974, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 49th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 9–10, 1976, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 50th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 8–9, 1977 sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 51st Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 7–8, 1978, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 53rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton on May 28–29, 1980, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 55th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton on June 2–3, 1982, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 56th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton on June 8–9, 1983, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 57th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton on May 30–31, 1984, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, United States from May 30 to June 1, 2017, with "Bee Week" events running for spellers between May 28 and June 3, and televised coverage on May 31 and June 1. Ananya Vinay, 12, won the competition by successfully spelling "marocain" in the final round. In fact, she made history as she had placed 172nd place in the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and then she won the 2017 edition. There is a remarkable moment when Shourav Dasari correctly spelled "Mogollon" in five seconds.
The 94th Scripps National Spelling Bee was a spelling bee that was held at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The finals were held on June 2, 2022, and televised on Ion Television and Bounce TV, marking the first time in 27 years that the Bee was not televised on an ESPN network. The winner of the bee was Harini Logan, an 8th–grade girl from San Antonio, Texas, who won with 21 words spelt correctly during the Bee's first spell-off round.
