Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 8th October 2026 Issue no. 1229

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ISSA Housekeeping Olympics returns to Las Vegas following ‘ESPN8: The Ocho’ Debut

After capturing millions of views, breaking into mainstream and social media media and making its ESPN8: The Ocho debut in August (a program showcasing seldom-seen obscure sports, which airs on ESPN networks), one of the cleaning industry's most spirited competitions, the ISSA Housekeeping Olympics, is headed back to Las Vegas - and this year, the entire industry is invited to get in the game.

The 36th Annual ISSA Housekeeping Olympics, hosted by the Indoor Environmental Healthcare & Hospitality Association (IEHA), a Division of ISSA, returns on Monday, 16th November, 2026, from 18:00 to 20:00 PST at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

The Housekeeping Olympics brings the entire cleaning and facility solutions industry into the action. Hospitality, healthcare, building service contractors and other cleaning and facility teams are invited to assemble a team and compete, while manufacturers, distributors and other industry organisations can join the excitement by sponsoring the event or supporting a team's participation. Competitors will go head-to-head in fast-paced challenges that transform essential cleaning skills into spectator competition, all for industry pride and the coveted Housekeeping Olympics championship trophy.

For more than three decades, the Housekeeping Olympics has celebrated the professionals whose skill and dedication help keep facilities clean, safe and welcoming. In 2025, that celebration reached an entirely new audience.

The 35th annual competition in 2025 generated more than 50 million estimated views and 750,000 social engagements, with more than 165 media and social coverage placements. Highlights of the competition appeared across mainstream news, sports and entertainment platforms including Inside Edition, CNN, Fox News, Yahoo, House of Highlights, Bleacher Report, and beyond.

Videos showcasing the competitors' speed, precision, teamwork and enthusiasm travelled across Instagram, TikTok and other social platforms, introducing millions of viewers to the talent behind professional housekeeping.

That momentum continued in August 2026, when the competition made its ESPN8: The Ocho debut at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort as part of the network's 10th anniversary celebration of unconventional sports and competitions.

"Last year showed us just how powerfully this event resonates with people both inside and outside our industry," says IEHA executive director Michael Patterson. "There is something incredibly compelling about watching these professionals take the skills they use every day and bring them into an arena filled with cheering teammates, colleagues and fans. The attention has been exciting, but what matters most is that it gives cleaning professionals a stage where their expertise, teamwork and pride can be seen and celebrated."

The 2026 Housekeeping Olympics will build on that momentum with teams putting their skills, speed and teamwork to the test through a series of high-energy cleaning challenges, including precision bed-making, mop relays, rapid vacuum races and other competitions.

And you don't have to work in a hotel to compete.

IEHA is calling on organisations from every corner of the cleaning and facility solutions industry to build a team and join the competition. Hospitality housekeeping departments, healthcare environmental services teams, building service contractors, in-house facility teams, other industry organisations are all encouraged to participate.

Whether competitors perform these tasks every day or are ready to find out how their skills stack up against the professionals, the Housekeeping Olympics offers an opportunity to bring colleagues together, represent their organisation and experience one of the industry's most energetic traditions from inside the arena.

The competition takes place alongside ISSA Show North America 2026, November 16th -19th in Las Vegas.

The 2026 ISSA Housekeeping Olympics is supported by Staples Business as Presenting Sponsor and Rubbermaid Commercial Products as Platinum Sponsor, helping bring the competition to life while celebrating the skill, teamwork and dedication of cleaning professionals across the industry.

For team registration, sponsorship opportunities and additional information, visit:

www.issa.com/housekeeping-olympics

24th September 2026