Mayor Turner’s Statement on Democratic National Committee Selection of 2020 National Convention Host City

Statement by Mayor Sylvester Turner:

“We are deeply disappointed that the DNC will not bring its 2020 national convention to Houston. Our bid brought together people from both major political parties, and from no particular party, to show that our welcoming city represents the demographic future of America — and has unmatched experience with putting on mega-events.

As Houston has proven many times with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Astros World Series Championship parade, the Super Bowl and the Final Four, the nation’s most diverse and fourth most-populous city is an effective host to the world, relying on great people from the private, non-profit, institutional and government sectors to unite and say ‘howdy’ in more than 100 languages.

“As the late President George H.W. Bush wrote to me in June in support of our bid, ‘Our facilities and hotels are world class, but it’s really our people – the spirit of our fellow Houstonians – that makes the key difference. No one works harder; no one is friendlier or more welcoming.’ We wish the DNC convention planners well and look forward to using our facilities for other highly successful activities in July 2020.”