MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) will be a golden affair in 2022, a 50th-anniversary celebration set in the shadow of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
MPI’s signature education event, scheduled for June 21-23, will incorporate the association’s 50-year history, a time in which MPI has become the world’s largest association for meeting and event professionals and an influential educator and advocate for the industry.
“San Francisco is thrilled and honored to host MPI WEC in 2022,” says Joe D’Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel, which leads the host committee for WEC. “Next year will mark a historic milestone, and we are truly excited to showcase the City by the Bay to you all once again.
“Since we last hosted MPI WEC in 2015, the city has seen many changes that we will be proud to show you. We have significantly remodeled Moscone Center, added new hotels and opened a new indoor sports and entertainment venue at Chase Center. And in 2016, the internationally acclaimed San Francisco Museum of Modern Art reopened following a three-year-long expansion. There are many other wonderful new things to see and do in San Francisco, along with all of the wonderful iconic experiences that we are famous for that we can’t wait to share with MPI WEC in 2022.”
San Francisco is well known as a leisure and food destination, and there have indeed been big changes since WEC was there last, including a more than four-year, $551 million expansion of the Moscone Center. The expansion added about 157,000 square feet to the three buildings, increasing the center’s total usable space to nearly 1.4 million square feet, including a column-free, 50,000-square-foot ballroom, 25,000 square feet of outdoor terraces and more than 100,000 square feet of pre-function lobbies with views of the city. In addition, a skybridge was added over Howard Street connecting the two renovated buildings.
While the city’s meeting and event business was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are positive signs that recovery is beginning. Dreamforce, the world’s largest software event and a regular fixture on the San Francisco convention calendar, will be returning this fall for its annual in-person meeting. Dreamforce will be the first corporate, citywide convention to be held in San Francisco since travel restrictions and pandemic lockdowns began last spring.
Moscone Center, Oracle Park (home to the San Francisco Giants professional baseball team) and Chase Center (opened in 2019 as the new home of the Golden State Warriors professional basketball team) have all been ranked among the safest large venues in the U.S., earning GBAC STAR certification.
“Next year will mark a historic milestone, and we are truly excited to showcase the City by the Bay to you all once again.”
More enhancements are on the way, with expected openings in spring 2022 including the Presidio Tunnel Tops, 14 new acres of green space that will link the Presidio with Crissy Field and the shoreline, and Central Subway, a new mass public transit line that will connect the Moscone Center with Union Square and Chinatown to the north and Oracle Park and Chase Center to the south.
“San Francisco and Giants Enterprises are excited to welcome MPI WEC back to the city in 2022,” says Stephen Revetria, president of Giants Enterprises and chair of MPI’s International Board of Directors. “This marquee program is a significant driver of short- and long-term economic impact for the city and the businesses that support the meeting and event industry. As global leaders in this business, our local hotels, restaurants, caterers, transportation providers and event venues like Oracle Park are always delighted to welcome the MPI WEC delegation and create excitement towards what a wonderful place San Francisco is for them to bring their groups.
“MPI WEC is a terrific event to build relationships, show off our great city and plan for future business. Celebrating MPI’s 50th anniversary next year only adds to the enjoyment that we know WEC 2022 in San Francisco will bring.”
