Events DC president and CEO Angie Gates shares her vision for the MICE business and the city
Prior to joining Events DC as its CEO in November, Angie Gates served as director of the Office of Cable, Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME) for the District of Columbia. In that role, she drove cross-industry economic growth and generated hundreds of jobs. She also played an instrumental role in the city’s Covid task force, ReOpen DC.
Now she tells CMW she is intent on using her considerable experience with venues and the creative arts to seize big event opportunities, making sure the whole city and area benefits from the post-Covid comeback.
Gates is also charged with growing the organisation’s three divisions of Conventions and Meetings, Sports and Entertainment, and Creative Services/Cultural Events.
Events DC incorporates many venues, including the city’s Walter E. Washington Centre, the Entertainment and Sports Arena, The Carnegie Library, National Park and RFK Stadium, as well as operating a new home for virtual events, GATHER by Events DC.
Gates’ expertise for bringing opportunities to the nation’s capital has resulted in more than 15 nominations and awards, including a Women of Excellence in Entertainment Award, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts ‘Arts as Activism’ Cultural Impact Award, and an Honorary Doctorate in Humanitarianism from the Global International Alliance. She has also worked in the mayor’s administration.
Her philosophy, she says, is “to lead a collective approach to work to promote events in this world-class city”. Gates adds that her organisation works closely with Destination DC and is also a major economic driver of not just the CVB but of events across the city.
DC is a big drawcard not just for associations, many of whom are headquartered in the capital, but for international political meetings such as the US-Africa Leaders Summit (13-15 December), a major event Gates and her team hosted at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
“The event hosted many world leaders and also helped drive the commitment to Africa and its development,” she says.
“It is also important that DC focuses on diversity and inclusion,” Gates adds noting the city is at the “perfect place” for key decisions to be made, with legislators close to hand.
Gates also highlighted the city’s 20 colleges’ and universities’ contribution to the next generation of ideas and innovation.
Job creation
As well as running a huge event network and venue business, Gates considers a big part of her duty to be to create jobs for the city. “Because of that we talk regularly to hospitality partners and the restaurant association, as well as a range of artisan partners with an aim of re-engaging the workforce,” she says.
“We also offer training to help fill the positions we have and play our role in taking care of everyone possible.” And a $15m grant is being made available to help with hospitality relief and also a cultural grant of $250,000.
Gates is also on a listening campaign, determined to talk to all 350 Events DC employees and stakeholders to understand concerns and to get the broadest sweep of ideas and views on promoting the city to take the business forwards.
“We have to make sure the city is engaged,” she says. “I may carry the title of president and CEO, but really all our employees are figureheads too, representing the business.”
Events return
In terms of events, Gates says the company is expecting its numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
E-sports is one big area for development for events, Gates notes, and 60 e-sports athletes from the NBA2K be coming to the District in February 2023 through a partnership between Events DC and Wizards District Gaming. The city will host seasons 6 and 7 in DC, which will be live-streamed.
While in the physical world of sport, the Capital City Go-Go, the NBA G League affiliate of the Wizards, has its regular season games at Entertainment & Sports Arena. The NCAA Women’s basketball (Georgetown v UConn) is coming in February.
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center will also see sports action in February with the return of the Capitol Hill Classic Volleyball Tournament, which hosts more than 3,600 matches and attracts about 950 teams, plus thousands of fans.
There is certainly much unique culture to exercise visitors in DC after conference and event hours, including the city being home to Go-Go music.
“This year we saw a record-breaking number of attendees for Otakon, a convention celebrating Japanese pop culture, with some 43,000 people in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center,” Gates explains, and notes that the Association of the US Army had about 30,000 attendees at its annual meeting in autumn 2022.
Looking ahead to 2023, one of the most popular car shows in America, the Washington Auto Show, will be coming in January. And, staying with transport, the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting returns the same month with more than 10,000 attendees and will be the first citywide of the year.
The Travel and Adventure Show, a public show in February, is expecting more than 10,000 people to come through the doors.
Another citywide with a big economic impact is the Credit Union National Association coming at the end of February.
