NBC News Unveils Plans for Democracy Plaza

Related: NBC

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NBC News world headquarters at historic Rockefeller Center in New York City will once again host Democracy Plaza, an innovative celebration of American democracy and citizenship.

Beginning Oct. 30, the landmark location will transform into the epicenter of election politics, full of opportunities to engage, excite, and empower visitors as they explore the biggest issues in America.

Democracy Plaza, created by NBC News and powered by Windows 8, will feature several interactive exhibits, including:

Replicas of the Oval Office and the White House press briefing room where visitors can have their photos taken and instantly shared online.

A video booth where visitors can record a mock version of an NBC News report. A news desk and teleprompter make it a realistic broadcast experience that will be shared digitally within minutes. Caricature artist stations where visitors will be able to get unique drawings of themselves with either Pres. Barack Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney. The drawings will be done using the new Fresh Paint app for Windows 8 and be instantly shared with the visitor.
Cutting-edge experiences to amplify and analyze the “Voice of the Voter” — both with visitors on-site and in a broader social media conversation.

Democracy Plaza will also serve as the backdrop for Decision 2012 coverage leading up to and on election day for NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, Telemundo, NBC News Channel, NBC 4 New York, and many other networks and broadcasts.

On election night, thousands are expected to gather in the Plaza to watch live coverage of results on large screens throughout the public spaces. The iconic Rockefeller Center skating rink will hold an enormous map of the United States, with individual states icing over in red or blue as the race is called by the NBC News Decision Desk. Red and blue banners representing the number of electoral votes will rise up the front of the building as each campaign climbs toward 270.

Democracy Plaza will be free and open to the public beginning Tuesday, October 30 through election night on Tuesday, November 6. The exhibits will be open from 8:00am – 8:00pm ET.

Further details about Democracy Plaza features and NBC News election programming are forthcoming. A graphic rendering is attached to this release and online here: http://bit.ly/TwbWIV.

For ongoing information, visit NBCNews.com/DemocracyPlaza. Follow on Twitter at @DemocracyPlaza, and join the conversation or share photos and experiences with hashtag #DemocracyPlaza and #Windows8.

Mark Lukasiewicz, Senior Vice President of NBC News Specials, is the executive producer overseeing Democracy Plaza. Robert Dembo is the Senior Broadcast Producer. Marc Greenstein is Vice President of Creative Production Design for NBC News and MSNBC.