NBC News once again transformed the legendary Rockefeller Center in New York City into Democracy Plaza, an interactive and innovative experience celebrating American democracy and citizenship in the heart of one of its biggest cities.
Created by NBC News and powered by Windows 8, Democracy Plaza opened Monday and featured 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.
Democracy Plaza also served as the home of Decision 2012 coverage in the days 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 gathered in the Plaza to watch live coverage of election results on large screens scattered throughout the public spaces. The iconic Rockefeller Center skating rink held an enormous map of the United States, with individual states icing over in red or blue as the race was called by the NBC News Decision Desk. Red and blue banners representing electoral votes rose up in the front of the building as each candidate claimed a state.
Democracy Plaza was free and open to the public through election night on Nov. 6.
For more information, visit NBCNews.com/DemocracyPlaza, follow @DemocracyPlaza on Twitter and join the conversation or share your own experiential photos using the hashtags #DemocracyPlaza and #Windows8.
