Scripps Spelling Bee 2026: Indian-origin contestants eye another title win—when and where to watch

The 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee is under way in Washington, with hundreds of young students competing in one of the world’s most well-known English language contests.

The three-day competition began on Tuesday and will end with the finals on Thursday night at Constitution Hall, located near the White House.

The spelling bee, first held in 1925, has become a major academic competition for school students. Students of Indian origin continue to dominate the competition. Thirty of the past 36 winners have been of Indian heritage, including last year’s champion, Faizan Zaki.

This year, 247 students are competing after qualifying through regional spelling bees held across the United States and other countries. Participants represent all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, three US territories and five countries — The Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.

The competition starts with preliminary spelling and vocabulary rounds. Students who clear those rounds appear for a written spelling and vocabulary test. The top performers then move to the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, where contestants answer oral spelling and vocabulary questions on stage.

Only nine finalists have made it to Thursday’s final round this year. Among the finalists is Sarv Dharavane from Georgia, who finished third last year at the age of 11. He scored full marks in the written test this year and has qualified again for the finals.

Other finalists include Shrey Parikh from California, Oliver Halkett from Los Angeles, Zwe Spacetime from Maryland, Aiden Meng from California, Ishaan Gupta from New Jersey, Kushi Gottimukkala from North Carolina, Avishka Dudala from Texas and Logan Bailey from Houston.

The winner of the spelling bee will receive more than $50,000 in cash and prizes along with a trophy and medal. The first prize includes $52,500 in cash, books from Encyclopaedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, and flight credits from Delta Air Lines.

Where to watch Scripps National Spelling Bee

The finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee will be broadcast on Thursday from 8 pm to 10 pm EDT on ION.

The event will also be streamed or aired on other Scripps-owned platforms including ION Plus, Bounce, Grit, Laff, The Spot, Scripps News and Scripps Sports Network.

Viewers in India can watch it on Scripps's YouTube channel here , on Friday, between 5.30 am to 7.30 am Indian Standard Time.

Indian-origin students dominate Spelling Bee

Indian-origin students have dominated the Scripps National Spelling Bee for years. According to a BBC report, Indian-origin children have won most of the contests over the past two decades despite making up less than one per cent of America’s school-age population.

Many Indian-American families place a strong focus on education, memorisation and disciplined preparation from an early age. Experts quoted by the BBC also pointed to strong community networks, spelling competitions within the Indian diaspora and high parental involvement as major reasons behind the success.

Researchers quoted in the report said many first-generation Indian immigrant parents in the US have highly technical and academic backgrounds, especially in engineering and information technology. This often creates a strong learning-focused environment at home.

Values such as hard work, competition and academic achievement are strongly encouraged in many Indian-origin families, helping students perform well in contests like the Spelling Bee.

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