WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (UPI) -- The GOP convention floor will undergo a Wednesday overnight makeover into a theater-in-the-round from which George W. Bush will give his acceptance speech.
Convention officials said the floor would be shuttered after Vice President Dick Cheney's speech so the theater-in-the-round could be constructed in place of the current design.
Officials said that will mark the first time a theater-in-the-round format will be used during a national political convention.
Also referred to as an arena stage, central stage or island stage, it allows the stage to be completely surrounded by the audience. The setting is another way the 2004 Republican National Convention will be the most unique in GOP history, convention officials said.
"When President Bush takes the stage on the convention's final evening, he will address the nation surrounded on all sides by audience members and delegates from across the nation," convention officials said of the new design, which will take about 20 workers 8 to 10 hours to install.
