The Walter E. Washington Convention Center has the most conferences, conventions and events booked for 2022 since before the pandemic — twice as many as 2021 — and people attending them can be assured of one thing: It’s clean.
It is the first convention center in the world to earn the WELL Health-Safety Rating certification.
The certification, from the International WELL Building Institute, is based on verified ratings for operational policies, maintenance and emergency plans for addressing a post-COVID-19 environment. IWBI says, “The WELL seal outside means you can feel safer inside.”
Events DC, which operates the convention center, also received the WELL certification for its Entertainment & Sports Arena and the D.C. Armory.
Events DC said to achieve the certification it implemented enhanced cleaning and sanitization procedures, emergency preparedness programs and a complete range of health service resources reviewed by the institute.
“We strive to lead the industry with our health and safety standards, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. This confirms that our commitment to health and safety extends beyond the pandemic,” said Samuel Thomas, interim president and CEO of Events DC.
The convention center has 75 major events on the books for 2022 this year, compared to 38 for all of 2021 and just 28 in 2020. There were 145 events at the convention center in 2019.
Among multi-day events booked for 2022 are AwesomeCon, Otakon, the Amazon Web Services Public Sector Summit and the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy.
