ELECTION NEWS
August 25, 2008
The Democratic National Convention
August 25-28, 2008
Fact File
The Democratic Party is gathering in Denver, Colorado, to nominate Senator Barack Obama as its candidate in the 2008 Presidential election. Obama has chosen Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware to run as the vice presidential candidate. Most major speeches and events will take place at the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver.
The party's national leaders, and delegates--who represent the district where they live in their home state--meet up at a convention every election year. Key Democrats will give speeches about the party's goals for this election, especially their hope of electing the Democratic candidate! Most importantly, the delegates officially vote for the candidate that Democrats in their district support. While party leaders know in advance that the majority of delegates support Obama, his nomination is not official until the delegates cast their votes.
By the numbers:Visitors have booked more than 17,000 hotel rooms in Denver for the week.
About 5,000 official delegates will attend the convention.
More than 20,000 volunteers helped to get the city ready for the convention.
Invesco field at Mile-High Stadium holds 75,000 people. Senator Barack Obama is scheduled to accept the nomination at Invesco field on August 28.
More than 15,000 journalists are expected to be in Denver, reporting on the convention happenings for TV, newspapers, magazines and the Internet.
Who's Who?David Gilbert-Pederson of Minneapolis, Minnesota is the youngest official delegateat the convention. He is only 17 years old!
Official speakers scheduled to take the stage include: Michelle Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Hillary Clinton, Former President Bill Clinton, Vice Presidential nominee Joseph Biden, former Virginia Governor Mark Warner and many other government leaders.
Political conventions attract famous people from all walks of life. Some artists who agreed to perform in Denver are Kanye West, Wyclef Jean and Jon Bon Jovi. Other expected celebrities include the actors Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Forrest Whitaker, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Edward Norton Jr.
You can find out more and keep up with events all week at DemConvention.com
