Image source, Reuters/Getty Images

The word unprecedented gets thrown around a lot in coverage of US politics. But it certainly feels like the right phrase for this election.

Let’s hit the rewind button back a mere seven weeks to see some of the key moments.

27 June - Joe Biden and Donald Trump debate. Biden’s performance is panned and it sets off what proved to be a runaway train of calls for him to stand down.

13 July - Trump survives an assassination attempt and is shot in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

15 July - Trump appears, bandage on ear, to a standing ovation at the Republican National Convention (RNC). JD Vance is announced as his running mate.

18 July - Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock and Dana White appear on stage ahead of Trump’s RNC speech. Trump speaks for the first time about the assassination attempt.

21 July - Biden withdraws from the presidential race and endorses Kamala Harris.

6 August - Harris announces Tim Walz as her running mate.

Intertwined with these dates we also saw; Trump question Harris’s racial identity, asking a room of Black journalists: “Is she black or Indian?”; the FBI opened an investigation into claims both Republican and Democratic Party’s campaigns were targeted by hackers working for the Iranian government; and both VP picks faced mounting scrutiny over their pasts.

Phil McCausland
Reporting from the convention

The DNC has opened its official store, and Democratic delegates are loading up baskets with the latest party swag.

From buttons and t-shirts to coffee mugs and water bottles, this store has the party faithful covered.

Unfortunately, it doesn't have purchasing quite figured out. A line of people snaking through the area makes up most of the store.

One woman suggested it was at least a 45-minute wait to get to a cashier.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

One of the most pertinent questions about these protests is whether they will have a noticeable impact on the convention itself.

Activists haven’t been assuaged by the new candidate at the top of the ticket and the potential for some measure of distance between the Kamala Harris campaign and President Biden’s policies.

Omar Younes is co-founder of Jisoor, a local Palestinian youth organisation.

“The Democratic Party may present a new face but its support for Israeli repression remains unchanged,” he says.

But he doesn’t personally blame Kamala Harris, saying: “She is not the problem, the party is.”

I ask Younes whether he thinks the protests will have a direct impact on the Democratic Party and this week’s convention. He’s sceptical.

“I’m hopeful that the voice of the people will be heard through other channels, through media, and that eventually puts pressure on the people in power to make a change,” he says.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Protesters have started to slowly trickle into Union Park here in Chicago, near the United Center where the DNC kicks off today.

Today’s march is focused on Gaza, and although it’s expected to be the largest one this week, organisers seem to be managing expectations when it comes to turnout, saying that “thousands” will show up.

At a news conference that’s just wrapped up, organisers were asked whether some of the anger at President Biden’s policies had ebbed since Kamala Harris became the Democratic candidate.

“We said from day one, nothing has changed, it’s full steam ahead,” says Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesman for the Coalition to March on the DNC.

So far it’s pretty good natured and, with the exception of the protest tunes blasting from speakers, relatively quiet.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from the convention

Clarinda Harris, a 60-year-old teacher from Chicago, is a first-time volunteer at the DNC this year.

One of the reasons she chose to help out this year is because she’s excited about the chance to vote for a woman.

“I’m looking forward to doors that were shut being open,” she says. “No more ceilings for anyone.”

Alma Chacon is a first-time delegate from the state of Washington. The 71-year-old says times have changed for women running for office since Hillary Clinton ran in 2016.

“The fact that Kamala is even running is a demonstration of that change,” she says.

Chacon says she’s excited to vote for Harris because she’s “the most qualified” candidate for the job.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from the convention

Image source, Getty Images

Officially, Chicago’s mayor and city council elections are nonpartisan. But don’t kid yourself. As sure as the cold winter wind whips off of Lake Michigan, this city of 2.6m is run by Democrats, and it’s been that way for decades.

One-party dominance in the last century gave rise to a system riddled with corruption, nepotism and ties to organised crime. This particular brand of Chicago-style politics was typified by Richard J Daley, mayor from 1955 until his death in 1976. Daley is still a controversial figure today - a party power broker who brutally cracked down on anti-war protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention here.

Daley staved off much of the decline that other so-called “rust belt” cities experienced and cobbled together winning coalitions from the city’s many ethnic groups. But machine politics didn’t work for everyone in the city, and while Daley was never charged with a crime, corruption was rampant in his city hall.

Democrats still rule the roost here but the party machine has evolved - and the current mayor, Brandon Johnson, has a very different political style. A former teacher and union organiser, he appealed to progressives and African-American voters to win office against a more conservative Democrat last year.

Johnson is expected to give a speech at the convention tonight and will be hoping this week’s events show off some of the charms of the Midwest’s biggest city.

Phil McCausland
Reporting from the convention

Sen Chris Coons of Delaware, a co-chair of the DNC, told reporters this morning that tonight will be a celebration of President Joe Biden’s accomplishments.

A close Biden ally and confidante, Coons advocated for the president to stay in the race after his disastrous debate performance in June. Ultimately, Biden chose to step aside and allow Vice-President Harris to become the Democratic nominee.

But it appears that tonight will serve as quite the send off.

“Joe Biden made it clear that he was running for president to restore the soul of our nation (in 2020). And tonight, four years later, it's worth our taking a few minutes to reflect on just how much progress Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made,” Coons said.

He noted Biden's long political career and praised his understanding of "how to build coalitions, how to work across the aisle, how to deliver for the American people".

Biden "got passed and he signed into law more consequential legislation than any president in my life,” he added.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from the convention

Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz is giving an unexpected speech at the DNC Black Caucus meeting this morning.

He starts by taking a jab at Trump, who recently claimed that Harris’s big crowds at a rally in Detroit were actually a result of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Walz says those AI crowd members will be voting for Harris in November.

He says Harris has brought “experience, vision and intelligence”, but also “joy”.

He ends by telling the crowd one thing he has learned in life: “Surround yourself with smart women and listen to them and you’ll do just fine.”

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the convention

Despite the many differences between the 1968 and 2024 conventions, some of the protester organisers taking to the streets of Chicago this week welcome the comparisons.

Among them is Hatem Abudayyah, a spokesman for the Coalition to March on the DNC, which is organising marches today and later this week to protest US support of Israel during the war in Gaza.

"This is the Vietnam War of our era," Abudayyah says. "The attacks on our movement, our students and our organisations are similar to the attacks on the movement that was trying to stop 1968... I absolutely see those parallels."

The coalition includes over 200 organisations involved in the protests, and its spokespeople have said that thousands of participants are expected.

The size of the protests has prompted Chicago's police department to warn that it won't tolerate "violent actors" or incidents of vandalism or criminality.

Abudayyah says there has been "no evidence of any violence" during protests organised by the coalition or its member groups since the conflict in the Middle East began 10 months ago.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the convention

Image source, Getty Images

Hello from Chicago, where we're gearing up for the first day of the Democratic National Convention, or DNC, later today.

In the days and weeks leading up to today, it's been hard to escape the frequent comparisons being made in some media outlets to the 1968 DNC, where a series of riots broke out.

Those riots - at the height of US involvement in Vietnam - came after the back-to-back assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy.

Ultimately, more than 600 protesters were arrested and over 100 treated for injuries, alongside 119 police officers.

Again in 2024, there will be anti-war protests - this time against the Biden administration's support for Israel during the war in Gaza.

And like back then, there has been a surprising change of guard amongst Democratic leadership. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek re-election months before the convention, while this time, President Biden pulled out of the race with merely weeks to go.

But today's delegates and veterans of the earlier protest movements say that the differences far outweigh the similarities.

"Other than the fact that they're in Chicago, there are none," long-time Democratic National Committee member and DNC delegate Elaine Kamarck tells the BBC. "This is not even close."

• Read more about those differences here

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Chicago

Image source, Reuters

Protesters will be gathering on the streets around the United Center today, with another major event planned for the last day of the convention on Thursday.

The protesters represent hundreds of local and national groups and come with a variety of concerns - among them immigration, abortion rights and criminal justice reform.

But where they differ most from the Democratic Party leadership is over Israel’s war in Gaza. The organisers call it a genocide and their website makes their intentions clear: “The march on the DNC will be a march for Palestine!”

They’re expecting tens of thousands to turn out and have been involved in a protracted legal battle with the city over the parade route. The protesters say it’s not long enough to accommodate everyone who wants to join in.

We’ll see if that becomes an issue. Protests at the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee did not draw as many people as activists expected.

But Chicago is a much bigger city with many more left-wing and pro-Palestinian activists, who are anxious to make their views heard.

Image source, Reuters

Once every four years, each of the two main US parties hosts a convention to formally select their presidential nominee and prepare for the final stretch of campaigning.

But this year will look slightly different from others, as the Democratic Party has already officially nominated Vice-President Kamala Harris in a virtual roll call after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

Many of the other DNC traditions - including appearances from celebrities and memorable speeches from party leaders - will remain the same.

This year's convention will focus on speeches from prominent Democrats and the adoption of the party’s platform. Delegates work during the day to finalise the platform, a draft of which has already been released.

The DNC will run from 19-22 August at the United Center Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The Republicans held their convention last month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Image source, Getty Images

Expect impassioned speeches, celebrity performances and roaring crowds during the Democrats' four-day convention.

Each day will showcase a different theme - today's is “For the people”, with speakers expected to pay tribute to President Biden for his work for the American people.

Today we’ll hear from Democratic leaders, what organisers have described as everyday Americans, performers, and more who will rally behind the Harris-Walz ticket. Here’s a look at the schedule:

• US President Joe Biden is expected to give a big primetime address on the first night of the convention
• First Lady Jill Biden and former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will also address crowds tonight
• We’ll also hear keynotes from California Governor Gavin Newsom and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson

• Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia will also speak

• It’s not just politicians on the ticket - the event will have entertainers each night, with names yet to be revealed

Emily McGarvey
Live page editor

Image source, Reuters

Hello and welcome to our live page for day one of the Democratic National Convention.

Over the next four days, politicians, A-list celebrities and Democratic Party supporters will descend on Chicago’s United Center to formally launch Kamala Harris’s bid for the White House.

A number of planned protests are expected to coincide with the much anticipated event, and we’ll have live coverage of every moment along the way.

The main event kicks off this evening with speakers including former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and President Joe Biden.

We have a team of BBC experts on the ground at the convention and we’ll bring you analysis, insight from voters and the wider reaction globally.

You can watch our live stream of the event at the top of this page and follow our rolling coverage of the build up to the event here.