New Orleans Convention Center Hosts Back-to-Back Events for over 50,000 Spectators

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Venues & Destinations
New Orleans Convention Center Hosts Back-to-Back Events for over 50,000 Spectators

3/22/2024
NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) is the Crescent City’s premiere venue for some of Carnival’s biggest events. Over four consecutive days, the NOENMCC transforms into Mardi Gras central as revelers flock to the facility to take in the excitement of four of the city’s largest Carnival krewes (clubs). The Zulu, Endymion, Bacchus, and Orpheus balls bring approximately 50,000 spectators to the Convention Center. Unlike traditional tradeshows with exhibits and presenters, the planning process, setup, and logistics required to host Mardi Gras balls and events is uniquely New Orleans and distinctive to the NOENMCC’s award-winning facility and staff.

PLANNING, LOGISTICS & OPERATIONAL EXPERTISE

Preparations begin one week prior to the first event when the facility operations team converts 293,010 square feet of event space into a Carnival extravaganza. With precision and efficiency, hundreds of operations crew members and contractors work together to construct and design the space, build stages, bring in decorations and set up a staggering 50,000 chairs, 5,000 tables and nearly 1,000 barricades over the course of the four days. With less than 24 hours between each event, the staff transforms and flips the space to accommodate the next krewe’s festivities, each with its own unique flair.

“Operation tasks are executed between the hours of 3 a.m. and 6 p.m. to seamlessly prepare for the next event, all while managing the disposal and recycling of huge amounts of trash and ensuring every inch of our floors is meticulously mopped,” said Michael J. Sawaya, Convention Center President and CEO. “The incredible feats our staff accomplishes over the course of just four days during Mardi Gras, making it all appear effortless, is incredible and truly a phenomenon unique to our facility, unmatched anywhere else in the world.”

Consistently ranked as one of the country’s top facilities for conventions and tradeshows, the NOENMCC is the sixth largest convention center in the nation. With 1.1 million square feet of space in downtown New Orleans, it is the ideal venue for these grand Mardi Gras balls that parade through NOENMCC featuring double-and-triple decker and multi-unit floats, accompanied by light shows, live concerts and crowds that top tens of thousands.

After each event, the Convention Center’s staff and cleanup crews collect and recycle tons of Mardi Gras “throws” and beads, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans. This year, the Convention Center’s Mardi Gras Bead Recycling Program gathered over 5,400 pounds of beads and “throws” plus over 300 pounds of plastic bottles and aluminum cans, helping divert trash from local area landfills to be recycled, repurposed, or reused. The NOENMCC is one of the city’s top contributors to Recycle Dat, a city-wide effort to make Mardi Gras more sustainable, as well as the largest donor to ARC of Greater New Orleans’ bead recycle program, which creates jobs for people with intellectual disabilities.

“Considering all that is required to host these Mardi Gras events, still the most amazing attribute of our staff is, the move-in of one of our more traditional events gets underway the very next day, as if nothing happened” concluded Sawaya.

About the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC)
New Orleans is Built to Host! With 1.1 million square feet of prime exhibit space on one level, all under one roof, NOENMCC is the sixth largest Convention Center in the United States and provides the largest single exhibit space in the country. NOENMCC is a 2023 IAVM Venue Excellence recipient and is consistently named a regional top workplace by The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Our recent LEED Gold certification makes NOENMCC the largest LEED-certified project in Louisiana and the largest convention center project in the U.S. certified under LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance, as well as the first convention center in the world to be awarded initial certification under LEED Gold v4.1 O+M. A leading contributor to the city’s robust tourism economy, NOENMCC event activity has produced $90.1 billion in economic impact since its 1985 opening. For more information about NOENMCC and upcoming events, please visit www.mccno.com.

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