Chicago G8 moved to Camp David

CHICAGO – A G8 summit scheduled for Chicago in May has been moved to Camp David, the White House announced Monday.

A NATO summit scheduled immediately following the G8 will stay.

The White House said President Barack Obama was inviting fellow G8 leaders to his Camp David retreat in order “to facilitate a free-flowing discussion,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

The paper said the White House did not detail exactly why it was moving the high level meetings from Obama’s hometown. 

"Mayor Rahm Emanuel had personally lobbied his old boss, President Barack Obama, to host both summits," the Tribune said.

May would have marked the first time since 1977 both organizations held summits at the same time in the same city.

The G8 was scheduled for McCormick Place May 18 and 19. The NATO summit is scheduled for May 20 and 21.

Both events were expected to draw thousands of protestors to Chicago.

“Chicago police estimated that 2,000 to 10,000 demonstrators were expected to show up for the overlapping G-8 and NATO summits. At least two major demonstrations were already planned for downtown during the summit, and organizers said they wanted to send crowds of marchers down Michigan Avenue in the middle of the day,” the Chicago Tribune said. 

Holding the G8 at Camp David, which is not open to the public, will make it tougher for protestors to get close to leaders.

Camp David, Agence France-Presse notes, is an “isolated, high security facility.” The newswire also mentioned it features “plush cabins.”

Camp David is located in the Catoctin Mountains in Pennsylvania, about an hour’s drive north of Washington, D.C. The presidential retreat is where the landmark Camp David peace accords were brokered in 1978.

The Associated Press described the move as a particularly curious one because "Obama rarely spends time at his presidential retreat."

Unlike many presidents, Obama has never hosted a world leader at Camp David, the AP said.