Important annual gathering of Black meeting planners to return to Chicago for first time in 30 years
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Isaac Reichman, ireichman@choosechicago.com, (312) 805-9586
Stephen Crano, scrano@choosechicago.com, (312) 567-8505
Alex Thomas, info@ncbmp.com, (571) 366-1779
Chicago to Host National Coalition of Black Meetings Professionals 2027 Annual Conference
CHICAGO, IL (June 2, 2025) – Choose Chicago and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP) today announced that NCBMP has chosen Chicago as the host of their 2027 Annual Conference. The NCBMP Annual Conference, which will be returning to Chicago for the first time in 30 years, is the largest annual gathering for Black meeting professionals in the United States and will take place December 1 – 4, 2027 at McCormick Place.
“I firmly believe that Chicago’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths—both economically and socially,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “My administration is committed to working alongside Choose Chicago to bring more diverse meetings and events to venues across our city, reflecting our city’s values and culture. The presence of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals Annual Conference in 2027 will help us secure more of those events for years to come.”
“Choose Chicago is thrilled to welcome the NCBMP’s 2027 Annual Conference, which will bring meeting planners representing nearly $50 billion in economic impact to Chicago and will benefit the small and diverse tourism related businesses throughout Chicago,” said Choose Chicago President and CEO Kristen Reynolds. “This announcement brings prominent meeting planners to Chicago to showcase our world-class facilities, infrastructure and welcoming community and is indicative of the great work of our Choose Chicago team to build relationships with key decision makers who bring meetings to our destination and drive our $20.3 billion annual visitor economy.”
“Our motto is, “We Do Business with Our Friend”. Friendship is at the center of our organization’s origins,” said NCBMP CEO Jason Dunn. “We believe that tourism empowers communities. Many cities have many hotels, convention centers and fine dining, but few have authenticity and a welcoming hand. We choose to bring our member organizations, who have a collective economic impact of $50 Billion dollars, to Chicago.”
“We at NCBMP are excited about the opportunity to host our 2027 national conference in a city that understands and believes in diversity,” said NCBMP Board Chairman Kevin Richardson. “NCBMP has always partnered with cities that had the same values as the NCBMP organization. Chicago continues to demonstrate the understanding of the economic impact of the diversity dollar.”
Headquartered in Alexandria, VA, the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals is a non-profit organization dedicated primarily to the training needs of Black meeting professionals. NCBMP has a network of more than 2,000 event professionals across the nation, representing events with over $49 billion dollars in revenue spent annually. The NCBMP Annual Conference brings together meeting professionals, association executives, CEOs, event professionals, industry suppliers, and hospitality students in an educational and networking environment.
The announcement of the NCBMP Annual Conference is the latest success in Choose Chicago’s efforts to attract multicultural and diverse meetings that align with our values as a city. This year, Chicago will host the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference and Expo in July and the AnitaB.org Grace Hopper Celebration in November. Next year, Chicago will host the 117th NAACP National Convention, and in 2028 we will host the Omega Psi Phi Conclave – the 8th of the Divine Nine historically Black fraternities or sororities to commit to meeting in Chicago in recent years.
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About Choose Chicago: Choose Chicago is the official sales and marketing organization responsible for promoting Chicago as a global visitor and meetings destination, leveraging the city’s unmatched assets to ensure the economic vitality of the city, its residents and our partner business community. Follow @choosechicago on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and X/Twitter. For more information, visit choosechicago.com.
