In 2025, the city of Dayton will host several hundred international dignitaries, their staff and families.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is holding its spring session in Dayton. The assembly serves as a link between NATO and the parliaments of the now 32 NATO nations.
The U.S. has not hosted a session since 2003.
The event will be held in a "NATO village" of various Dayton venues from May 22 to May 26.
According to U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, several key Dayton locations will be featured in the village for the assembly sessions. They include the Schuster Center, the Victoria Theater, the Air Force Museum and CareSource.
"The benefit to our community of this happening around Memorial Day weekend is a lot of the activities, a lot of the normal traditional demands on downtown will not be there, which is exciting because it means we have all this space that NATO can transform this into a NATO village," explained Turner during a Wednesday press conference.
Turner said the NATO visit is a multi-million dollar effort involving extensive security measures, street closures as well as engaging downtown businesses interested in being a part of the event.
Gabriel van Aalst, the CEO and president of Dayton Live, said his team is part of the planning group for this event.
van Aalst said efforts are being made to involve youth from the schools and colleges, illuminating Dayton’s global impact.
"I personally want to see young people recognize both the history of the Dayton Peace Accords and its importance to global politics, but also the way that we as a community can have an international impact," van Aalst said. "Then also one step further, the way that the arts can really integrate into all parts of daily life and that this fabulous facility and fabulous campus has a way of transforming the experiences that we have on the every day."
Participants will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords. That’s when international leaders came to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to end the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
