CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 15, 2016 - The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church – the largest black Methodist denomination in America – has selected Cincinnati USA for its 2024 General Conference. Held every four years, the event is expected to draw approximately 20,000 attendees using more than 27,000 hotel room nights and delivering more than $8 million in visitor spending to the region. This represents the largest African American and religious convention booked in Cincinnati in the past decade.

Planned for July 3-10, the 2024 event will convene primarily in the Duke Energy Convention Center. Attendees will utilize many hotels across the region, including downtown’s Hilton Netherland Plaza, Hyatt Regency, Millennium, as well as Northern Kentucky’s Embassy Riverfront, Cincinnati Marriott at RiverCenter and Radisson.

“A decade ago, we made the religious and multicultural meetings market a top priority for Cincinnati USA, and that strategy continues to bring great benefits to Cincinnati,” said Dan Lincoln, president and CEO of the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The AME is one of the most influential and venerated religious organizations in the world, and their choice of Cincinnati for their 2024 emphasizes our strength in this meetings market.”

In the final review, Cincinnati was selected over Nashville, home to AME’s headquarters. With the win, the Cincinnati USA CVB has now hosted or booked 16 of the top 25 multicultural conventions in the country, including the National Urban League (2014), Sigma Pi Phi (2018), the National Baptist Convention (2008, 2017) and the NAACP (2008 and this summer, 2016). Cincinnati last hosted the AME General Conference in 2000.

“Cincinnati’s rich religious traditions and history within the AME Church, combined with the region’s strength as a host for large religious meetings made it an excellent choice for our 2024 Conference,” said Dr. Richard Allen Lewis, Treasurer/CFO for the AME Church. “The mix of restaurants, hotels, and meeting facilities, as well as the region’s diverse and inclusive business environment, promise to bring our attendees a great experience and provide an ideal backdrop for moving our mission forward.”

The size and influential nature of the convention is expected to attract high-profile faith-based and civic leaders, as well as entertainers from across the country, to engage with the 20,000 attendees from around the country.
“As the home to Allen Temple AME, one of the oldest AME churches west of the Alleghenies, Cincinnati is a natural fit for this prestigious national convention,” said Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley. “We are a diverse city in race, religion, and ideology, and events like the AME continue to showcase our community’s culture and heritage to the nation.”

Three local AME leaders played an integral role in securing the bid for Cincinnati: Reverend Frederick A. Wright, Sr., D.Min. of the Quinn Chapel AME Church, Reverend Alphonse Allen, D.Min. of the Allen Temple AME, and Bishop McKinley Young of the Third District AME.

About the AME Church
Founded in Philadelphia in 1816, the AME Church is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination and the oldest independent Protestant denomination founded by African Americans in the world. It has more than 2.5 million members in 39 countries on five continents. AME will celebrate its bicentennial at the 2016 General Conference July 3-13 in Philadelphia. For details, visit http://2016generalconference.org.