Brandon Drenon
Reporting from the convention

President Biden just made a brief appearance on stage at the DNC for a mic check.

While there, he fielded a few questions from reporters gathered below.

He was asked if today was a bittersweet moment - here as a guest speaker and not the Democratic nominee - to which Biden replied that it was a “memorable moment”.

He said he was ready to pass the torch to Kamala Harris.

Caitlin Wilson
Reporting from the convention

We're a few hours away from the call to order for the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

I'm here at the United Center in an area dubbed "media row" with dozens of other outlets, keeping our eyes peeled for any notable politicians who happen to wander by.

We're near a famous bronze statue of basketball legend Michael Jordan dunking - when it's not hosting conventions, the United Center is home to the Chicago Bulls.

The main story so far today has been the pro-Palestinian protests taking place just a few blocks from here, though the crowd hasn't been as large as organisers predicted.

If you're just joining us, here's where we stand:

• Protesters - a few thousand of them gathered in Union Park, flying dozens of Palestinian flags and surrounded by Chicago police officers.

• Demonstrator Tallis George Munro told my colleague Mike Wendlingthat he’s heavily involved in Democratic politics and that he’ll vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, but he still joined in on today’s protest. “They don’t get a free pass" for the United States's support of Israel's war in Gaza, he said.

• Harris's running mate Tim Walz made an appearance at a DNC Black Caucus meeting earlier. He told the crowd that Harris has brought “experience, vision and intelligence”, but also “joy”.

• President Joe Biden will headline the convention tonight, less than a month since he stepped down as presumptive nominee. Close Biden ally Senator Chris Coons told reporters earlier that Monday night will be a celebration of the president's legacy.
• Other speakers expected today are former Democratic nominee and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

The third-largest city in the US is very familiar with big political conventions.

The first one held here was in 1860, when Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln. Between them, Republicans and Democrats returned here a total of two dozen times over the next 100 years.

Chicago’s robust transport links, big venues, location right in the middle of the country and a crucial electoral region make a lot of sense for politicians throwing a party.

But violence in the wake of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, along with the country’s shifting political terrain, has cooled enthusiasm for holding big political shindigs here. This year’s is the first major-party convention held in the city this century.

Local organisers are trying to capitalise by spreading the wealth, enlisting local businesses as suppliers and splitting events among two main venues, United Center on the city’s West Side, and McCormick Place just south of downtown. The five or so miles in between are stuffed with restaurants, hotels and bars.

Not everyone is expecting a bonanza. Some shops in downtown Chicago have reportedly closed or even boarded up their fronts, because of concerns about protests turning ugly.

And the convention means students will get an extra few days of summer vacation – schools in the city usually open their doors this week, but won’t start up again until next week instead.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

After several hours of listening to pro-Palestinian speakers, protesters are now en route to the United Center - where the Democratic National Convention is being held.

They are chanting phrases including: “Harris, Harris you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and “US out of the Middle East”.

Organisers were unsuccessful in getting approval for a longer route, and will be on the march for just over a mile around the DNC site.

Image source, Getty Images

We heard from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre a littler earlier, who briefly spoke about President Biden's speech.

The president is the keynote speaker on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

She said the president “is continuing to fine-tune the speech” and described him as in a “great mood” and in “great spirits”.

When asked about the length of his speech, she said: “It’s a surprise”.

Image source, Getty Images

Democrat Kamala Harris will face Donald Trump in November's US presidential election, but who is she and how did she rise to the top of her party?

UK viewers can watch a special new programme about Harris on iPlayer here.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from the convention

Image source, Brandon Drenon/ BBC

For the next four days, the United Center - typically home to the NBA's Chicago Bulls - will be home court for Kamala Harris and the DNC, a space now brimming with a popular buzzword among progressives: intersectionality.

The slogans "Trust Democratic Women" and "When We Fight We In" have been embedded into the visual landscape, dangling next to digital displays of hamburgers, hotdogs and crinkle cut fries.

There are compost bins, recycle bins and rubbish bins; a gender neutral bathroom; and a gender neutral prayer room.

Hanging above the prayer room, a giant neon sign that reads "Giordano's" (Chicago's beloved deep-dish pizza parlor), illuminates the narrow space between two prayer rugs.

It's an interesting cocktail of capitalism, progressivism and Americana.

Brandon Livesay
Live page editor

Image source, Getty Images

Vibes at the Republican National Convention were like victory party for Donald Trump and his die-hard supporters. The RNC was held in Milwaukee in July, just days after an assassination attempt on the former president.

The image of Trump with blood on his face and his fist raised was everywhere; on t-shirts, signs, and flashed on jumbo screens inside the arena where thousands gathered each night.

Every Republican I spoke to was not merely confident of Trump winning the presidential election, they were convinced it was inevitable. Remember, Trump’s rival at the time was Joe Biden - and his campaign was imploding.

The bars were filled every day and night with delegates from across the country. Kid Rock took to the stage at one point, and professional wrestler Hulk Hogan whipped the crowd into a frenzy when he declared it was “Trump-a-mania”.

That week of celebration now looks distant in the rear-view mirror of Trump’s campaign. Since then, Biden stood down and Kamala Harris stepped up.

That set off a surge of momentum for the Democrats, who will be looking to have their own celebrations this week.

It’s a busy week for Donald Trump as Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz are in Chicago for the convention. Trump will be visiting several swing states this week.

On Monday, he’ll be in York, Pennsylvania, followed by Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, North Carolina on Wednesday and Arizona on Thursday to talk about the border.

Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, will be hitting key swing states as well. He has four events, in Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Wisconsin and Georgia.

The BBC’s Katty Kay explains why President Joe Biden's speech to the Democratic National Convention will be a bittersweet moment.

Until Biden dropped out of the race in July, he would have expected his party's convention to have been all about his re-election bid.

Instead, after the president delivers a speech tonight, he will head off on holiday.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from the convention

Around 30 delegates heading to Chicago this week are there for a different mission. Started in Michigan, the Uncommitted movement is a group that is pushing to end US support of Israel’s war in Gaza.

In several states across the US, voters in the Democratic primary election voted “uncommitted” in protest of the Biden administration’s support for Israel.

Now, delegates will go to the convention on their behalf. The BBC spoke with June Rose, an Uncommitted delegate from Rhode Island who says the group’s main aim is to ensure a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel.

“We’re going to make sure our voices are heard,” Rose says.

Rose says it’ll be a busy week for the delegates, who are hoping to recruit Harris delegates to stand in solidarity with them as a part of a “ceasefire delegation” - whether that means wearing a pin or showing up to an event, adds Rose.

The movement has press conferences every day of the DNC as well as vigils and marches. “I believe that this party can be one that stands up for freedom for all,” Rose says.

“That’s the message that we’re going to bring there.”

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the convention

Answering a question from the BBC, Minnesota Democrat and former long-shot presidential contender Dean Phillips says that the "one and only thing" he is concerned about before the November election is Donald Trump.

"The man is incompetent, and he lacks character. He's willing to do anything to satisfy his own ego," Phillips says.

"That means that even if the Harris-Walz ticket wins by a considerable length, I think he's going to inspire some Americans to object," he adds. "That is the only thing that keeps me up at night."

If Trump does not "have the capability" to abide by the election night's results, Phillips says, "our country will have problems".

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the convention

Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC News

On the floor of the convention, I just caught up with Minnesota Democrat - and one-time challenger for the party's nomination - Dean Phillips.

Phillips, who launched a long-shot presidential bid in October 2023, says that he believes Joe Biden "did the right thing" by stepping aside, a move he says breathed new life into the Democratic Party.

"This [his challenge to Biden] was never personal. It was about the numbers, and about winning," he tells reporters. "I knew that if a change was made, we'd feel a generational shift, energy, excitement, possibility, optimism."

The current mood among his peers in the party, he says, is similar to that which he recalls around the 2008 election of Barack Obama.

"That's what politics is all about, inspiration. You've either got it or you don't," he adds. "You can't quantify it. The only thing you can quantify is polls, and it was clear Joe Biden was going to lose."

Phillips says he hopes that tonight will be a "celebration" of Biden and his achievements before passing the torch to Kamala Harris.

"But I think the way things are working out is actually for the best," he says. "It's working out quite well."

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Image source, Reuters

Speeches continue here in Union Park as dozens of Palestinian flags flutter overhead.

Organisers just claimed from the stage that 15,000 people are here, but that seems to be a pretty clear overstatement - at most there’s a few thousand gathered.

Hundreds of Chicago police officers are lined up around the perimeter as we await the march to the United Center.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Image source, Mike Wendling / BBC

Tallis George Munro has made the trip to Chicago from Cleveland, Ohio.

He is eager to tell me he’s heavily involved in Democratic politics and that he’ll vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

But he’s in the thick of today’s protest.

“They don’t get a free pass in their support for genocide,” he says.

The week’s protests “might change policy around the margins,” he says, but although he holds out little hope for a drastic change in US policy, he says he worries about what he thinks is a bigger threat - the policies of Donald Trump.

“We are close to white Christian nationalism with Trump,” he says to me, adding he thinks that was "the biggest problem in this country right now”.

Caitlin Wilson
Reporting from the convention

Image source, Caitlin Wilson / BBC

We’ve just arrived outside the media entrance at United Center in Chicago, where Democratic politicians and delegates will gather for the next four nights.

Even now, hours before the main speakers are set to show up, there is a long line wrapped around the block to get through security.

We’re waiting with hundreds of other journalists laden with backpacks, laptops and other gear, hoping to get set up before anybody inside makes any major news.

Luckily it’s a beautiful sunny day and we have a clear view of a major Chicago landmark - the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from the convention

During a busy week of events in Chicago, one of the priorities for Democrats will be to lay out their platform - a statement of where they stand on issues.

The party has already released a draft of the platform from when Biden was the nominee.

It focuses on a range of issues - growing the economy from the “bottom up and middle out”, lowering health care and other costs, tackling the climate crisis and gun violence and securing the border.

Several of these themes are listed as topics of discussion during speeches in the evenings at the DNC, including gun violence, the economy, reproductive freedom and democracy.

We can likely expect some of the most important issues for voters to take centre stage - inflation, the economy, the border and reproductive rights.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Protest organisers have touted the fact that people are coming into Chicago from all over the country this week.

One of those who has travelled a while to get here is Karyna Lemus - a member of the Colorado Springs People’s Coalition. Colorado Springs is about 1,000 miles (1,600km) away.

She tells me she’s been involved in Palestinian rights for decades and she sees connections between her indigenous roots and Palestinian people.

Lemus also mentions other traditionally left-wing causes, such as black and LGBTQ rights, as issues close to her heart. “I hope they hear us inside,” she says of the DNC.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Speeches have just started here in Union Park - somewhat behind schedule.

Several hundreds have gathered here, and boos rain down when one speaker mentions President Biden.

A small pro-Israel demonstration materialised on the edges of the park, separated from the main crowd by a large deployment of police.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the convention

I've just stepped onto the floor of the Democratic convention - where people are starting to slowly trickle in ahead of tonight's event.

At the moment, the crowd below is mostly made up of reporters, doing TV lives or hurriedly setting up for tonight, which is being held under the theme "for the people".

Many come from far beyond the US. In the last few minutes alone, I've run into journalists from Germany, Brazil and Japan.

We still have several hours to go until the main event begins, starting with Minyon Moore, the chair of the 2024 DNC and Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

A slew of lawmakers will take the podium after them, including Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and, at the end, President Joe Biden.

Stay with us for more updates.