The bright star delta Sco has been considered a typical B0-type object for many years. Spectra of the star published prior to 1990 showed no evidence of emission, but only of short-term line profile variations attributed to nonradial pulsations. Speckle interferometric observations show that delta Sco is a binary system with a highly-eccentric orbit and a period of ~ 10.6 years. Weak emission in the Hα line was detected in its spectrum for the first time during a periastron passage in 1990. Shortly before the next periastron passage in the summer of 2000, the binary entered a strong Hα emission and enhanced mass-loss phase. We monitored the spectroscopic development of the Be outburst from July 2000 through March 2001. In this paper we present results from our spectroscopy, refine elements of the binary orbit, and discuss possible mechanisms for the mass loss. This paper is partly based on observations obtained at the European Southern Observatory and the South African Astronomical Observatory.