New Orleans hosted two major events last week, Sail250—a global maritime celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States starting with the arrival of tall ships—and the announcement of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. New and renovated hospitality infrastructure sets the city up to host multiple large events at once.
Stately Gallier Hall on St. Charles Street in New Orleans, which has served as a civic touchstone since 1850, this week welcomed global dignitaries as the first stop for Sail250, an international maritime commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. A flotilla of tall ships and military vessels arrived for the week to mark the start of the celebration of America’s Sestercentennial with four more stops planned before the Fourth of July festivities in New York.
Mayor Helena Moreno noted that the 300-year-old city has been shaped by its port as commerce, music and diverse cultural influences entered from the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. “Global connectivity remains one of our greatest strengths,” Moreno said.
New Orleans & Company President and CEO Walt Leger spearheaded the global gathering and noted that like other New Orleans celebrations it is meant to bring joy, but also to symbolize the serious business and cultural role the city has played over the last three centuries.
New Hotels, Renovations and Lift
To grow The Big Easy’s capacity as a gathering place for ideas and arts, advances are being made in hospitality infrastructure at all levels. New gates are planned at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) as part of a 20-year master plan to add a second terminal by 2031. And a 1,000-room Omni New Orleans Convention Center headquarter hotel is planned to across the street from New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in 2030.
It will join 253-room Fairmont New Orleans opening in the third quarter of this year and renovated Hilton New Orleans Riverside and Marriott New Orleans. A total of $1 billion in hotel renovations is underway, including JW Marriott New Orleans, the site of a 2024 Smart Meetings Experience on Canal Street.
The convention center, itself, is completing a $763 million renovation that is upgrading the infrastructure, sustainability and esthetics of the building as part of a Vision 2035 River District mixed neighborhood development. “We are bringing the nine neighborhoods visually into the convention center in addition to making it brighter and more efficient,” said Elaine Williams CMP, CEM-AP, chief commercial officer with New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Meanwhile Audubon Riverfront Park is expanding with outdoor plaza space. A $2.5 billion medical district will expand the city’s robust biosciences base on 1,500 acres with participation from New orleans BioInnovation Center, Louisiana Cancer Research Center, New Orleans VA Medical Center and University Medical Center New Orleans.
Legar calls the city’s ability to host multiple high-profile events from Super Bowls to Tulane University Book Festv (Mardi Gras for the mind) and develop on many different fronts “layering” and says it is a local specialty.
Best F&B Celebration
At the same time that the military brass was touring the gunwales in their dress whites, the restaurant elite turned out for a black-tie celebration of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants at Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in the French Quarter. Three New Orleans dining concepts made the list with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse taking the stage to be recognized as an icon while focusing on ensuring everyone was feeling welcome.
The city had already been distinguished with Michelin stars for Emeril’s (Emeril Lagasse’s son, Chef E.J. Lagasse was the youngest chef to receive two stars) while Zasu and Saint Germain each received a star. A total of 18 New Orleans restaurants were recommended by the Guide to the American South while four received James Beard Award nominations in May. In total, the city boasts 1,200 restaurants in a walkable grid.
The city thrums with a backdrop of global music, even in the airport as a recognized UNESCO Creative City of Music.
“We love hosting and music often shows up in unexpected ways here,” said Stephanie Turner, senior vice president of convention sales and strategies with New Orleans & Company. “We are focused on making New Orleans a great place to live, work, learn and visit.
