Unconventional Facts About Conventions: Republican Convention

The 2016 Democratic and Republican conventions look to be full of drama and historical significance. With the wild election cycle this year, we were inspired to look beyond the basics and find some interesting facts about how these conventions are organized and how they run.[Tweet "We were inspired to find some interesting facts about the GOP convention. #GovEventsBlog"]

Cleveland and Philadelphia will play host to the Republicans and Democrats respectively. For host cities, besides the revenue brought in by the influx of conventioneers, the convention provides an opportunity to highlight what their town has to offer to an international audience. Selection committees look at a number of factors when choosing host cities including available venues and infrastructure. In fact, Baltimore hosted many of the early conventions because it was an accessible port on the eastern seaboard. With the arrival of the transcontinental railroad system, the Midwest became a more viable location and has remained popular. In fact, Chicago has hosted Democratic and Republican conventions 25 times - more than any other city.

With the 2016 conventions coming up soon, we wanted to take a look at some of the fun facts about the events and their host cities. Up first, the Republican National Convention, to be held in Cleveland, OH, July 18-21:

• This year's convention is being held earlier than usual to "allow access to crucial general election funds earlier than ever before to give our nominee a strong advantage heading into Election Day."[Tweet "The 2016 GOP convention is being held earlier than usual. #GovEventsBlog"]
• The GOP convention set was constructed in just four weeks, the shortest time in convention history.
• A mere staff of 120 and a great number of volunteers will manage the 50,000+ delegates, alternate delegates, visitors, and media expected to attend the upcoming convention.
• Online accessibility is key. After the large digital turnout at the 2012 convention, the RNC has stepped up their game this year, developing an official app.[Tweet "The RNC has stepped up their game this year, developing an official app. #GovEventsBlog"] The RNC also plans to utilize social media channels such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and others. This will ensure that conventioneers, and those at home, have access to live streaming of the event, city guides, maps and more.
• To handle the influx of people going online, AT&T, the official telecommunications carrier for the event, is making improvements to boost service inside the main convention venues and throughout the city.
• For the first time ever, the Convention will employ 360-degree live cameras, giving viewers an exclusive glimpse into every angle of the action at the Quicken Loans Arena - or the Q, as Cleveland residents call it.
• There are 12 official caterers and 6 official florists for the Republican Convention. In all, there are 1000 vendors supporting the event (and you thought you had a lot of vendors to manage).
• For clarity on the delegate voting process, the party developed a video that explains how the delegates vote.
• In addition to installing new public art displays, Cleveland's artistic community will entertain visitors with spontaneous artistic, musical, and dance performances at the convention venues and throughout town.

Conventions are a central place for political parties to gather every four years, but GovEvents is where government gathers every day.  Check back with us for fun facts about the Democratic Convention!