The logistics of the 2020 Democratic National Convention were unique from other United States presidential nominating conventions. Originally, the convention was scheduled to be staged in a manner similarly to other presidential conventions, being scheduled to take place July 13–16, 2020 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the convention drastically shifting to a virtual event with a production headquarters at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. Initially, convention organizers responded to the pandemic by postponing the event to August 17–20, 2020, maintaining hopes of staging an in-person event. However, continuing pandemic restraints led to the ultimate abandonment of plans for an in-person convention. The staging of a televised virtual convention, and the challenges imposed by pandemic health concerns led to complex logistics unique from any previous presidential convention. Adapting to pandemic restraints, the format of the convention was substantially different from previous conventions, with the duration of each day of the convention being significantly shorter than in past conventions and with most of the convention activity occurring held remotely from many venues across the country rather than at a single venue. Its activities were largely decentralized and it was regarded to be a "virtual" convention. However, the convention was officially considered to centered at the Wisconsin Center, which is where its production was headquartered, its roll call was directed from, and where a limited number of speeches (primarily those by Wisconsin politicians) were delivered. While the 2020 Republican National Convention, held a week later, was similarly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers of that convention took many differing approaches in how they staged their convention.
Site selection
Bids on the site for the convention were solicited by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in late 2017. Preliminary requirements for host cities that the DNC laid out included that they should have between 17,000 and 18,000 hotel rooms (including 1,000 luxury suites) located within 30 minutes of the convention venue. In the spring of 2018, the Democratic National Committee made public which cities were bidding. The field subsequently narrowed, with Las Vegas withdrawing after deciding it would focus solely on bidding for the 2020 Republican National Convention (an effort Las Vegas later abandoned without submitting a formal bid, with Republicans ultimately selecting the sole bid it received from Charlotte). In April 2018, the Democratic National Committee sent requests for proposals to the eight remaining cities that had expressed interest in hosting the event (Atlanta, Birmingham, Denver, Houston, Miami, Milwaukee, New York City, and San Francisco). On June 20, 2018, the Democratic National Committee announced four finalists for the convention site (Denver, Houston, Miami, and Milwaukee). Immediately following the announcement, the finalist city of Denver withdrew from consideration due to apparent scheduling conflicts. Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Tom Perez announced on March 11, 2019, that Milwaukee would host the convention. The selection of Milwaukee made this the first Democratic National Convention to be hosted in the Midwestern United States since Chicago hosted the 1996 Democratic National Convention, and the first to be hosted in a midwestern city other than Chicago since St. Louis hosted the 1916 Democratic National Convention. This was the first major party convention held in Milwaukee. It was also the first major party convention to be held in any city in the state of Wisconsin. In terms of population, Milwaukee is smaller than other metropolitan areas that had hosted recent major party conventions. Milwaukee is among the smallest metropolitan areas to have hosted a major party convention. Milwaukee's success in bidding for the convention was viewed in some circles as an upset, as the other two remaining finalist cities were not only larger metropolitan areas, but also had significant experience hosting major events such as Super Bowls. Milwaukee's selection was seen, in part, as emphasizing party's desire to place an focus on winning Midwestern states like Wisconsin, and its desire to win back "blue wall" states in the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region. The swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin had been the states which the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence had won by the narrowest margins in the preceding 2016 election, and had these states been instead won by the 2016 Democratic ticket of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, they would have delivered the Democratic ticket an electoral college victory in 2016. The 2016 election had also been the first time since the 1980s that any of these three states had voted Republican. The three aforementioned "blue wall" states were, ultimately, won by the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020. Some sources cited DNC chairman Tom Perez's personal connections to Milwaukee as a factor that aided Milwaukee's selection. His wife had originally been from nearby Wauwatosa, they had held their wedding in Milwaukee, and their daughter was a current student at University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Bids Several cities made efforts to be selected as the location of the 2020 convention.
Host committee
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