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 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National, in Oxon Hill, Maryland from May 27 to May 31, 2012, and was broadcast live on ESPN3. The championship finals occurred on May 31, 2012.
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 74th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 29–31, 2001, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 72nd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on June 2–3, 1999, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland from May 24–28, 2015. Students competed for a prize valued at $38,600 coming from various companies.
The 89th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on May 24–26, 2016.
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 48th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel on June 4–5, 1975, 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 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 58th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton on June 5–6, 1985, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.
The 91st Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland from May 29 to 31, 2018. The winner was 14-year-old Karthik Nemmani, an eighth grader from McKinney, Texas, who correctly spelled "koinonia" for the win. Due to a rule change in how spellers can make it to the Bee, the bee's total field of 515 spellers was a large increase over prior years.
The 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, from May 27 to 30, 2019. The finals were held on May 30, 2019, and televised on ESPN2 and ESPN. It featured 562 total contestants and was won by eight co-champions who had lasted through twenty rounds.
Spelling the Dream is a 2020 documentary film directed by Sam Rega and written by Sam Rega and Chris Weller. The premise of the film revolves around competitive spelling bees, which have been dominated by Indian-Americans in recent times. The film follows the life of four kids: Akash Vukoti, Tejas Muthusamy, Ashrita Gandhari and Shourav Dasari. The film also features interviews with Jacques Bailly, Kevin Negandhi, Sanjay Gupta, Fareed Zakaria, Hari Kondabolu, Valerie Browning, Srinivas Ayyagari, and Pawan Dhingra.
The 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida. The finals were held on July 8, 2021, and televised on ESPN2 and ESPN. It was won by Zaila Avant-garde, the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and the second black person to do so.
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.
The 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee was a spelling bee competition that was held at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
