For a weekend each summer, one of the biggest company meetings in the world turns northwest Arkansas into something resembling the World’s Fair.
The event, known as the Walmart Shareholders Meeting, is part state-of-the-company meeting, part pep rally and part all-star concert. Thousands of Walmart employees from around the world descend on Bentonville to take in a celebration that includes updates on how the world’s largest retailer plans to stay competitive, facility tours and A-list celebrity singers and performers.
Delegates representing the global giant’s more than 2 million employees are selected by managers from stores whose eligibility alternates yearly.
In the past, the employees arrived four days in advance of the scheduled Friday meeting to take in a series of scheduled events. In 2018, the format was tweaked to include a formal Wednesday meeting for business proposals and shareholder voting at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers, followed by the Friday celebration at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Headliners in 2018 included Jamie Foxx and Carly Rae Jepsen performing for the crowd of more than 14,000.
The event has come a long way from the first, six-person shareholders meeting presided over by founder Sam Walton in a coffee shop. The next year’s event, in Little Rock, drew exactly zero attendees.
After returning to Bentonville the shareholders meeting grew and expanded, taking place for a time at Bentonville High School, adding picnics, float trips and camping excursions. The first featured performer was country star T.G. Sheppard, who was followed by a long and diverse list of celebrity performers and notable guests that includes Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Reba McEntire, Lee Greenwood, Joe DiMaggio, Tom Cruise, Michael Jordan, Aerosmith, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, among many others.
Some performers have private performance requests, meaning their acts aren’t shared via the company’s worldwide webcasts. All performances are donated, as the celebrities or their parent companies have relationships with Walmart, as a goodwill gesture.
Sign up for Daily E-news
