SPIRE started as the South American Workshop on String Processing in Belo Horizonte in 1993. It skipped 1994, changed its name in 1998, left South America in 1999 when it went to Cancun, and started alternating between Latin America and Europe in 2000 when it went to A Coruña, a pattern that was briefly interrupted in 2008 and 2016 when it went to Melbourne and Beppu, respectively. The complete list of previous venues is as follows:
- 24th SPIRE: Palermo, Italy, September 2017
- 23rd SPIRE: Beppu, Japan, October 2016
- 22nd SPIRE: London, UK, September 2015
- 21st SPIRE: Ouro Preto, Brazil, October 2014
- 20th SPIRE: Jerusalem, Israel, October 2013
- 19th SPIRE: Cartagena, Columbia, October 2012
- 18th SPIRE: Pisa, Italy, October 2011
- 17th SPIRE: Los Cabos, Mexico, October 2010
- 16th SPIRE: Saariselkä, Finland, August 2009
- 15th SPIRE: Melbourne, Australia, November 2008
- 14th SPIRE: Santiago, Chile, October 2007
- 13th SPIRE: Glasgow, Scotland, October 2006
- 12th SPIRE: Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 2005
- 11th SPIRE: Padova, Italy, October 2004
- 10th SPIRE: Manaus, Brazil, October 2003
- 9th SPIRE: Lisbon, Portugal, September 2002
- 8th SPIRE: Laguna de San Rafael, Chile, November 2001
- 7th SPIRE: A Coruña, Spain, September 2000
- 6th SPIRE: Cancun, Mexico, September 1999
- 5th SPIRE: Santa Cruz, Bolivia, September 1998
- 4th WSP: Valparaiso, Chile, 1997
- 3rd WSP: Recife, Brazil, 1996
- 2nd WSP: Valparaiso, Chile, 1995
- 1st WSP: Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 1993