Springfield tapped as national host city for 2026 Route 66 centennial kickoff

Springfield has been named as the host city for the national Route 66 centennial kickoff next year, with plans to livestream the local celebration around the world.

It’s a distinction conferred by the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission and the Road Ahead Partnership, a national nonprofit working to sustain Route 66 as an international destination.

Gov. Mike Kehoe made the announcement April 23 at the historic Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven motel, where Elvis Presley famously spent the night in room 409 in 1956. The host city status opens the door for more overnight stays in the Queen City, organizers say.

The event will start with a concert, which organizers say will feature A-list entertainment, at the Shrine Mosque on April 30, 2026. The concert will be livestreamed internationally with cut-ins from Route 66 cities from across the United States.

The city will also host its annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival Aug. 7-8, 2026. This year’s festival is scheduled for Aug. 8-9.

Kehoe pointed out the international attraction presented by the Mother Road. He said his farm is located in Jerome, Missouri, right on Route 66.

“It’s unbelievable, but people come from all over the world to drive on that stretch,” he said.

He called the host city status a well-deserved honor for Springfield, the city where it began.

“I have no doubt this centennial will be something truly unforgettable,” he said.

Cora Scott, Springfield’s director of public information and civic engagement, chairs the state’s Route 66 Centennial Commission and serves as director of Springfield’s Birthplace of Route 66 Festival. When asked how the honor came about, Scott said she threw Springfield’s hat in the ring.

“We just applied,” she said. “And then we got the great news that we were selected.”

Among the requirements was that the host city would have a celebration on April 30. That checked a box for Springfield, where on April 30, 1926, a telegram proposing the name Route 66 was sent from the Colonial Hotel to federal officials, resulting in the city’s moniker as the birthplace of Route 66. Springfield is taking a leadership role in Route 66 tourism because of the tie-in, Scott said.

“We’re definitely taking some leadership in the state of Missouri, and we’ve got great momentum with all the cities across Missouri,” she said.

She said St. Louis plans to host its Route 66 festival next year on April 30 and May 1 and include a telecast airing at the Shrine Mosque with live footage from that city and other key Route 66 locations, including Tulsa, Oklahoma. The goal is to secure six cities to participate. Scott added that specific broadcast agreements are yet to be worked out, but the hope is to secure a nationally televised broadcast.

As energy builds for the centennial celebration year, Scott said she gives a lot of credit to Kehoe.

“When he was lieutenant governor, he really leaned in on this,” she said.

The Route 66 Centennial Commission is charged with preparing cities across Missouri for the celebration through citizen involvement. The commission has incentivized Missouri communities to plan events and design tourist attractions with more than $1 million in investments funded by the state, according to a news release from the commission.

In fact, Scott said in an email, the state has funded the commission with $2 million, including the $1 million allocated for communities across the state to host special events, tour stops and “selfie” signage.

“We are still reviewing applications and in the process of providing additional funding – an iterative process,” she said.

She added that the commission voted to dedicate $500,000 to the kickoff event and will be working with the U.S. Centennial Commission and the Road Ahead Partnership to more than double that amount in private corporate donations and sponsorships.

Mark Hecquet, president and CEO of Visit Springfield, Missouri, formerly the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it’s a great honor for the Queen City to be selected as the national host city.

“Certainly, the committee could have picked anywhere along Route 66, and to be chosen is just such an exciting day for Springfield,” he said.

Springfield’s claim of being the birthplace of Route 66 is deeply woven into the fabric of the city, according to Hecquet, who added that the governor’s announcement marks a historic milestone.

“Route 66 has certainly shaped Springfield into what it is today,” he said. “From a tourism perspective, not only will this put us in the national spotlight, but we truly believe Springfield will be an attraction worldwide as we welcome people from around the world to experience the iconic Route 66.”

Hecquet said the centennial celebration will undoubtedly provide an economic boost, though he said the effect will be hard to quantify. He noted that every day, the city’s Route 66 welcome center is visited by fans of the Mother Road from around the world.

“These are visitors who are driving the road or on bikes, doing family trips, looking to experience real America,” he said. “This centennial celebration will only further intensify Route 66’s reputation as that iconic bucket-list experience, not only for people in the U.S., but for those around the world.”

The economic impact of Mother Road tourism appears to be nebulous to scholars, too, with studies that are few and far between. A decade-old National Park Service study reported in 2015 that the eight states along Route 66’s path captured $289 billion in travel expenditures, supporting 2.4 million jobs with a $73 billion payroll and generating $44 billion in taxes. In Oklahoma, 2023 figures touted by the organization Partner Tulsa showed that Route 66 tourism contributed $79 million in net in-state wealth to the economy.

Visit Springfield officials have been attending international events to talk up the centennial to tour operators and travel planners, Hecquet said, with recent visits to Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin and London. The goal is to position Springfield as a must-see destination for Route 66 travelers.

“The interest is sky high,” he said. “Springfield is already working on looking to roll out the red carpet and ensure every visitor has a wonderful experience here.”

Asked how many Route 66 travelers already visit the Queen City, Hecquet said there’s no telling.

“Any number I give you I think would be understating the true impact,” he said.

He said Visit Springfield counts visitors to the welcome center, which closes most days at 4:30 p.m. and is not open on the weekends.

“We’re missing a large share to give you a really true and accurate number,” he said. “We probably have tens of thousands of people coming through Springfield specifically for Route 66, and I anticipate that could potentially double in 2026.”

In an interview with Springfield Business Journal after the announcement, Kehoe talked about how Missouri can maximize the draw of Route 66 – an area where other states have shown a higher level of organization in the past. For example, Oklahoma offers a free Route 66 passport to help visitors plan their Sooner State trek on the Mother Road.

“We’re gonna rock it,” he said. “Missouri’s going to set the tone.”

Missouri may set the tone, but its neighbor states on Route 66 have set a higher financial bar. According to an announcement by its Department of Commerce last year, Oklahoma has invested $6.6 million ahead of the centennial. In February, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the awarding of $3.3 million in grants to various cities to support the Route 66 centennial celebration.

The website for the Missouri Route 66 Centennial Commission seeks ideas and sponsors for the commemoration and also outlines some of the state’s plans. The commission offers what it calls reimbursable sponsorship funding to eligible organizations and businesses with events exhibiting positive tourism and economic development along Missouri’s defined Route 66 alignments – different routes designated as Route 66 throughout the life of the road.

Counties along the road are challenged to create signature tour stops along the route, with competitive design sponsorships of up to $15,000 and up to $125,000 in matching fund sponsorships for select stops.

The commission will also offer sponsorships of up to $15,000 to purchase, install and maintain interactive Route 66 shield signs that will provide photo opportunities for travelers.

In an interview in May 2024, Phyllis Ferguson, owner of the Rockwood Motor Court historic tourist lodgings and also a member of the state commission, said the commission had been appropriated $970,000 in the most recent budget and hoped for another $1 million in the next one.

She said better signage to help tourists locate areas of the route is planned, and she also cited the Route 66 interactive signs to be placed in different communities along the road.

She noted the pandemic was hard on Route 66 businesses, and some shut down and did not reopen.

“If we can channel some money in the direction of a business that they’re starting to pick back up, but maybe they need a new roof and the money is not there for that roof, but if they can apply for a grant and get $5,000 or $10,000 to help put that roof on, they can stay in business,” she said at the time. “That’s important to the economy of these small communities as well as the big ones.”

Kehoe said Scott and the rest of the commission have been working on the celebration for many months, and the state has offered the resources necessary to tackle it.

“I’m super proud of where Missouri is, and it’s only going to get better,” he said.

Aaron Sachs, owner and founder of personal injury law firm Aaron Sachs & Associates PC, is one of the presenting sponsors of the annual Birthplace of Route 66 festival.

Sachs said Springfield is the hub of the Mother Road, and supporting its celebration is an easy decision.

“I think it’s unique to Springfield. It also is a part of Americana. It represents freedom and why we’re proud to be Americans,” he said. “We’re looking forward to next year.”