Many of the nation’s and world’s major events are being canceled or pushed back far beyond the summer of 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the movement of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee to mid-August may be a signal of a more optimistic view of when things will be moving toward the previous “normal” of life – as well as a showcase to the world of Milwaukee’s capability to showcase itself to the world amidst a pivot of the biggest world-reaching event in the city’s history.
“This is a signal that we are going to be in a better place by that time,” said Tracy Johnson, President of CARW and contributor to WTMJ Nights, on the Steve Scaffidi Show.
“Just to see the quality of this machine to be able to say ‘OK, we might not be able to make it work this date, we can move it a full month.’ It gives the country a sense of ‘We might be in a more normal state by that time.’ I hope (so).”
Many predictive models show that the “curve” of the largest rise of COVID-19 cases should happen sometime in July, but few major national and world-scoping events remain on the calendar for that month.
This is the first large-scale event in Wisconsin that has been postponed to this early of a date. Summerfest has been moved back to September.
But this may show a confidence that a return to relative normalcy is on the way.
Still, to make such a change is a massive undertaking – with the necessity to guarantee space at Fiserv Forum, the Wisconsin Center District and hotels, all of which will be available the week of August 17, according to the DNC.
“Everybody got on the same page and said ‘Listen, we’ve got to make this happen,’ ” said Johnson.
“We are rallied around executing this convention. We’re going to do everything we can to make sure this is a success.”
That may also mean a scaling-back of the convention, with the possibility that not as many visitors may come.
That also includes the spillover pieces of the convention, the events outside the perimeter of the convention, the aspects of what restaurants and other service industry will provide after having been economically decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic – with many of those businesses closing, at least temporarily.
“Think about the restaurants with nobody working there. What is that going to look like? How are the owners going to be able to ramp up?” asked Johnson.
“This is a signal that we are going to be in a better place by that time.”