After being canceled last year for the first time in its long history, the Spelling Bee national finals have been relocated from the usual Washington, D.C.-area locale amid COVID-19 health considerations. Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex — also the home of the NBA and MLS bubbles last year — is the new stage for 2021.
The event will be broadcast on ESPN2 for vocabulary devotees to take in all the pride and pageantry, since the live audience is being kept very pared down. Eleven finalists from around the country will compete for a $50,000 prize.
Additionally, at least one part of Washington, D.C., will be coming to the Bee instead of the other way around, as Dr. Jill Biden will visit on Thursday to congratulate the finalists and meet their families ahead of the start of the competition. This isn’t her first Bee; she visited the 2009 finals while part of the Obama Administration.
The Scripps Spelling Bee airs tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
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This article appears in Jul 7-13, 2021.