The first jamboree was scheduled to be held in 1935 in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Scouting, but was delayed two years after being cancelled due to a polio outbreak.

Since 2013, jamborees are permanently held at The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in Mount Hope, West Virginia.

A jamboree is held for approximately a week and a half and offers many activities for youth participants and the 300,000 members of the general public who visit it.

Celebrities visited the jamboree, including well-known broadcaster Lowell Thomas and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

While at the jamboree, Scouts also attended a three-game baseball series between the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox at Griffith Stadium, as well as toured nearby Mount Vernon.

[4][5] Like the Boy Scouts of America's national organization, the jamboree were originally divided into regions—Western, Central, Southern, and Northeast.

The 2005 National Scout Jamboree had 20 subcamps, identified by number and named after famous explorers (e.g. Robert Ballard, Steve Fossett, Joe Kittinger, and Will Steger.)

Local council committees typically have volunteer members responsible for finance, fundraising, training, recruitment, transportation, touring while en route to the jamboree site, and other functions where appropriate.

Youth and adult volunteer and professional Scouters provide a number of services to the jamboree by being on staff.

Goshen Scout Reservation in Virginia was selected for the new site in February 2009,[19] [20] but was withdrawn due to significant restrictions on land utilization[21] and local community opposition.

At the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, popular patches displayed such things as Ron Jon Surf Shop, Master Chief from Halo, Star Wars characters, Super Mario, SoBe energy drink, and the unofficial, yet still sought after, Hooters patches.

Its OA Flap set had a chip inside that welcomed Scouts to the Jamboree and included Teddy Roosevelt's signature cheer, "BULLY!"

At the 2010 Jamboree, sought-after patches included Marvel superheroes from both Theodore Roosevelt Council and Northern New Jersey Council, Halo, Blues Brothers, the Orange County set (filled with vibrant images of surfers), the Central Florida Guitars (which made music when squeezed), the Great Salt Lake racers, and all sorts of military helicopters and planes, as well as a reappearance of the Hooters patches.

Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, Vice President Richard M. Nixon,[30] First Lady Nancy Reagan, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, senators,[31] and governors[32] have all attended.

Entertainers have included Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Bob Hope, Danny Thomas, Sgt.

At the 1953 jamboree where comedian Bob Hope was master of ceremonies, he quipped that the assembled 45,000 Scouts, including boys from 23 other countries, were like "the United Nations in short pants".