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The RNC Is About To Take Over Cleveland

by Morgan Brinlee

As the host city wraps up some last-minute preparations, the countdown is on to the Republican National Convention. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump is set to be named his party's official presidential candidate for the 2016 election in Cleveland, Ohio, and it's causing many to question: just how long will the Republican National Convention be?

The real estate mogul will roll the Trump train into Cleveland on July 18 for four jam-packed days of politics. For the 2,470 delegates and 2,302 alternate delegates joining 15,000 accredited members of the media and numerous Republican party leaders in the northeastern Ohio city, convention days will be full of speeches.

Former Republican presidential candidates Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ben Carson are both rumored to be speaking some time during the convention. Trump has also reportedly asked former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight and boxing's most flamboyant promoter, Don King, to speak, infusing the traditionally purely political event with a bit of sports stardom.

During the convention, delegates will vote to make Trump the Republican Party's official candidate. Trump secured 1,542 of 2,470 delegates in the primary, putting him a few hundred over the 1,237 delegate threshold required to secure the GOP's nomination. The highlight of the convention will likely come when Trump addresses convention attendees and gives his acceptance speech.

John Sommers II/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena will serve as the main event center for the Republican National Convention, with the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland designated as the official media center of the political gathering. Approximately 1,200 ancillary events scheduled to be held throughout the city over the course of the convention's four days, according to the GOP's Committee on Arrangements, which is tasked with planning and managing the event. The Cleveland 2016 Host Committee has estimated the Republican Party's nominating convention will bring 50,000 visitors to the city for the four-day event.

Although the Republican National Convention is not open to members of the public, the event will be heavily covered by multiple cable and network news channels with various networks planning to live stream a significant portion of the convention online. The Republican Party also released a mobile app, RNC 2016, that allows users to live-stream speeches at the nominating convention and access an official schedule of events.