Politicon, the 5-year-old annual bipartisan political convention, will be relocating from Los Angeles, California to Nashville, Tennessee.
Politicon is known for drawing speakers and attendees from all ideologies and walks of life and encouraging them to engage in political discourse. From celebrities to elected officials, from comedians to pundits, the conference draws large crowds every year.
“It’s all too easy to preach to the choir, but can you defend your positions in front of the opposition?” Politicon asked in a statement about the move. “Politicon gives those who know or think they know, the opportunity to do so, while engaging both sides of the aisle in a non-combative arena. And hopefully have some fun doing so.”
“Politicon’s first four years have seen an incredible depth and variety of speakers and attendees,” the statement added. “We hope that with the move to Nashville … nearly smack dab in the middle of the country … will open up opportunities to increase that variety and openness, and are excited to find a new, real, ‘purple?’ home.”
This year’s Politicon will take place on October 26-27th at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville.
In an interview with The Daily Wire, Politicon’s co-founder Simon Sidi explained that the move is strategic.
“We decided [Nashville] was the right choice this year,” Sidi said. “We are really excited about moving there because it’s a liberal arts city in a conservative state, making it perfect for Politicon.”
Sidi stressed that Los Angeles was a great location, but hopes Nashville attracts a new audience by bringing the conference to the middle of the country where several large cities are within driving distance.
“We wanted to get a lot of people from the East Coast to come to Politicon, but they didn’t want to fly over to Los Angeles,” Sidi said, adding that he hopes some of the usual crowd still attends.
Sidi explained that the move to Nashville is part of the organization’s expansion.
“We would love to have many Politicons and even international ones one day,” Sidi said. “Wherever there is a democracy, we would love to do a Politicon.”
Hosting the conference in the “Country Music Capital of the World” may draw speakers with a music background, as Los Angeles influenced Hollywood stars to participate, organizers said.
Last year’s Politicon featured several large names including Tucker Carlson, Tomi Lahren, Dennis Rodman, Adam Carolla, Alyssa Milano, Cen Yugur, Clay Aiken, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Joy Reid, Anthony Scaramucci, Trevor Noah, and many others.
One of the largest events at 2018 Politicon was a Daily Wire panel featuring Ben Shapiro, Jeremy Boreing, Andrew Klavan, Michael Knowles, and Elisha Krauss for a full hour of Q&A.
I also attended last year’s Politicon where I interviewed speakers and attendees about everything from “Good Trump, Bad Trump,” to “ the Blue Wave” in day one and day two videos.
Other changes for Politicon 2019 include using hosting the entire event in one large room rather than having several separate rooms. The organizers plan to set up different sections for separate panels within it’s “Democracy Village.”
“It will be very vibrant and bustling,” Sidi said.
On Wednesday morning, Politicon released a promotional video about its move. Watch below: