Democrats began descending on Denver on Sunday for the four days of carefully constructed pageantry that will crown Barack Obama as the party’s presidential nominee. The sense of history surrounding the week’s events will culminate when Obama makes his acceptance speech before an audience of 75Â 000 at Denver’s football stadium.
Organisers expect about 50Â 000 accredited delegates: Democratic governors and members of Congress, party officials and labour leaders. That is a fraction of the attendance at the city’s annual livestock show, which drew more than 670Â 000 ranchers and farmers this year. But Denver authorities hope the convention — seen as the political equivalent of Woodstock — will put the rapidly growing city on the map.
On Sunday workers put the finishing touches to the stage set of high definition television screens and coloured lights at the Pepsi centre, where the party leaders will appear. The Denver Post, which got a sneak preview, was not impressed, describing the backdrop as a ”videogame that collided with a game-show set”.
On the outside looking in will be tens of thousands of other Democratic party activists as well as protesters — from disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton, leftwing demonstrators wanting to recreate the chaos of the Democratic convention of 1968, opponents of the Iraq war and anti-abortion campaigners.
The authorities have prepared chain-link holding cells in a disused warehouse in case of arrests – a facility protesters have denounced as a mini Guantánamo.
Amid the protesters will be international observers as well as uninvited guests. The former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, who lost their races for the Republican nomination to John McCain, both plan to turn up in Denver during the convention.
Embassies have sent observer contingents, as has the Labour party, which has dispatched a delegation led by the Cabinet office minister Ed Miliband, who will have a key role in the next election.
The crush of people as well as the fact that Obama will be the first African-American to secure the nomination of a major political party have dictated intense security arrangements which will be overseen by the secret service. About 2Â 500 FBI and police will be deployed around the convention centre, a secret service spokesperson said.
The city’s air space will be closed for the duration of festivities. Roads will be blocked off and transit stations shut. The entire Denver police force has been put on standby and the authorities are also pressing prison guards into convention duty.
Organisers had initially billed the event as a public occasion, promising to give away half the tickets in the stadium to local Coloradans, rather than party grandees. But a cash crunch dictated otherwise and the organisers were compelled to give away box seats at the stadium to the biggest donors
Those in prime viewing spots on Thursday night will include the Republican billionaire Tom Golisano, who donated $1-million to the convention. In return, Golisana, the owner of the Buffalo Sabres football team, will get tickets for 50 guests to Obama’s speech event.
Big donors are also being invited to attend a post-speech reception where they will meet Obama. – guardian.co.uk