Angelica Casas
Reporting from the memorial

Image source, Reuters

As each of President Donald Trump’s cabinet members and close allies take the stage to speak about Kirk, the crowd gets louder, anticipating Trump’s own speech, which is set to happen shortly.

A few moments ago, Don Trump Jr impersonated his father on stage, teasing him about calling him out for his social media posts. The stadium erupted in laughter.

Now, as Vice-President JD Vance takes the stage, everyone in the room stands up to cheer and chant - "USA, USA!"

• You can Watch live at the top of this page now for the speeches at the memorial

As we've just reported, Elon Musk is attending today's event alongside members of the US administration, including the president.

A moment ago, we saw Musk and Trump sitting next to each other.

In the clip below, you can see the moment the pair shake hands.

This comes after a public falling out and Musk leaving his Doge role earlier this year.

Image source, Reuters

Pete Hegseth, whose title was recently changed to Secretary of War, has just addressed the crowd.

He describes Kirk as a "warrior" and someone who believed in less government and "a lot more God".

"He started Turning Point USA, but this moment is the turning point for the USA," he says, ending with, "Charlie, we'll take it from here. God bless."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is up next and starts by saying he was initially "skeptical" of Kirk and the mission of Turning Point to spread conservative ideas on US campuses.

"But my skepticism was proven wrong," he says. Rubio recalls his interactions with Kirk, describing the late activist as someone with "an uncanny amount of wisdom for a man as young as he was."

He says Kirk was "bold" for his ability to debate and discuss with people he disagreed with.

"Charlie Kirk did that more than anyone alive in America today is doing."

Image source, Turning Point USA

We've just seen President Donald Trump sitting with Elon Musk in the memorial.

We'll bring you more on this soon.

• Trump and Musk are seated behind a glass screen

Image source, Turning Point USA

We've just heard from several White House officials as they address the stadium to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller uses a lot of religious language.

"The light will defeat the dark," he says. "We will devote the rest of our lives to finishing the causes to which Charlie gave his last measure of devotion."

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles praises the political work Kirk did - "For Charlie making America great again meant bringing young people to this movement and making sure they knew they belonged," she says.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard speaks about free speech. "Charlie lived what our founders envisioned: freedom, the right to speak even when we disagree," she says.

As we've been reporting, there are strict security measures in place at today's event.

President Trump and his family have been watching from behind glass. The band on stage is also similarly protected, as are the speakers on stage.

Image source, Reuters

Today's memorial brings together a who's who of America.

Here's a look at who else is at the Glendale stadium today.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Turning Point USA

Charlie Kirk will be awarded a posthumous honorary degree by Hillsdale College, a private conservative college in Michigan, next spring.

Earlier in the memorial, Hillsdale's President Larry Arnn said Kirk's widow, Erika, will also be honoured.

"This May the 9th, Erika doesn’t know this yet, we are going to give Charlie and Erika the greatest respect a college can give: an honorary degree,” Arnn says.

The crowd cheered.

As a reminder, Kirk didn't finish college - he dropped out to focus on establishing Turning Point USA.

Image source, Reuters

Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Sergio Gor, is the first administration official to address the service.

"The other side was terrified of Charlie because Charlie embodied the spirit of Maga," he says, describing Kirk as one of his best friends.

"Charlie was all Trump," he says, before closing his remarks by saying how much they love and miss Kirk, adding "rest in peace my brother".

Other Trump administration officials due to speak include White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Vice President JD Vance - with the president himself also among the planned speakers.

Angelica Casas
Reporting from the memorial

The stadium screens have just shown a video from Charlie Kirk’s event at Utah Valley University, where he would later be shot and killed.

It led to perhaps the quietest moment in the stadium so far.

In the video, Kirk arrives at the university to cheers of "Charlie Kirk!" and throws baseball caps out to students.

"There’s a lot of people here," Kirk says to the students in the video, before it fades to his image and a message from his wife - "He fought the good fight."

Image source, Reuters

We've just had our first glimpse of Trump and some of the president's family inside the stadium - they appear to be watching from behind glass.

Among the recent speakers was right-wing activist and Jack Posobiec, who gave an impassioned speech about Kirk's legacy.

"Our civilisation will endure. The United States of America will endure. For Charlie, we will continue the mission," he said.

Image source, Turning Point USA

Now we're listening to Sergio Gor, Director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, speaking.

Image source, Turning Point USA

Those at the stadium are now hearing from Frank Turek - a friend of Charlie Kirk who was standing 25 feet (8m) from him when he was shot.

Turek is describing what happened on 10 September.

He tells the audience the security team were with Kirk "immediately" and says Kirk's team "did everything they were supposed to do".

"We did everything we could to save Charlie but he was already gone," Turek says. "I learned that Charlie felt no pain, he died instantly."

Bernd Debusmann Jr and Mike Wendling
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

He never ran for office or held an official government position, but Charlie Kirk rose from being an unknown activist from the suburbs of Chicago to the standard bearer of Donald Trump's Maga movement.

In 2012 – around the midpoint of Barack Obama's presidency – aged 18, Kirk helped co-found Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a group which focuses on conservative activism on college campuses.

By 2024, Kirk was a fixture in Trump's orbit, courting donors and discussing strategies at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and hosting Turning Point USA summits hosted by local Republicans.

Kirk was President Trump's bridge to young Republicans, and Trump credited him and his organisation with his second term victory.

News of his killing last week hit the White House hard, starting with the startled gasps of young staffers who saw news of the shooting while scrolling on their phones.

In a powerful tribute, penned hours after Kirk's death Vice President J.D Vance wrote: "He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government."

Donald Trump Jr posted his own message saying that Kirk "wasn't just a friend, he was like a little brother to me."

• Read more on Kirk's meteoric rise towards Maga stardom here

Asma Khalid
Co-host, The Global Story Podcast

Charlie Kirk is being mourned by right-wing leaders and activists beyond the borders of the United States.

In recent months, Kirk had been taking his conservative message abroad.

Just days before he was killed, he was speaking in South Korea and Japan. Earlier this year, he also visited the United Kingdom, where Daniel Ogoloma met him. The two partnered on a debate at Oxford University.

In a recent episode of The Global Story Podcast, we spoke to Ogoloma about why Kirk’s message resonated so deeply with him.

"The fact that he doesn’t shy away from challenging prevailing narratives, speaking boldly about issues that many prefer to probably avoid – it’s truly inspirational across the globe,” Ogoloma told us. “I think he’s left behind a blueprint for young conservatives worldwide.”

Ogoloma, who is British-Nigerian, said Kirk had been encouraging him to spread this vision in Nigeria.

You can hear our full conversation here.

US President Donald Trump has landed in Arizona.

As we've been reporting - he, along with other prominent members of his administration, is due to address the memorial later.

Pictures show him disembarking Air Force One a short while ago.

State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona, is home of the Arizona Cardinals - an NFL team.

With a capacity of 63,400, which can be expanded to over 73,000 for larger events, the stadium has a retractable roof and a natural grass playing surface.

Opened in 2006, the stadium has hosted three Super Bowls and has an average annual attendance of 1.2 million over the 120 events it hosts a year.

The stadium was the first stop on Taylor Swift's Eras tour two years ago, hosting three nights.

Kirk lived in Arizona with his family prior to his death. The US state is also where Turning Point USA - the organisation he founded - is headquarters.

Image source, Reuters

Turning Point USA's memorial event for Charlie Kirk is officially under way.

Pastor Rob McCoy is among the speakers who have already given an address - attendees have also seen live music and a bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace.

President Donald Trump is due to deliver a speech later on, as is Kirk's wife Erika.

Before then, other US officials we'll hear from are:

• Vice-President JD Vance
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio
• Secretary of War Pete Hegseth
• Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr

Stay with us for live updates throughout the event.

Our reporters at State Farm Stadium have been speaking to attendees at the memorial service.

"He was the voice of our generation and he was stolen from us," one says.

Another says those gathered in Arizona are "mourning his loss".

You can watch their comments - and others - in full below:

Maga hats and a sea of red, white and blue - this feels more like a political rally than a memorialpublished at 19:31 BST 21 September

19:31 BST 21 September

Sarah Smith
North America editor, at the memorial

Image source, Reuters

Tens of thousands of people have been queuing for hours outside State Farm Stadium in Phoenix where the atmosphere is much more akin to a political rally than a memorial service - with many red white and blue outfits accessorised with Make America Great Again hats.

It is a mark of Kirk’s impact and influence that his supporters have travelled from right across America, as well as internationally, to honour the conservative activist and influencer.

President Trump will be the headline speaker, along with Kirk’s widow Erika, Vice-President JD Vance and several other cabinet members.

Speaking to reporters on his way to Arizona, Trump said it was going to be a tough day celebrating someone he called a great man.

Kirk’s murder has set off a furious debate about free speech in America. He was a passionate advocate of freedom of expression, yet there has been a backlash against those speaking out against Kirk and his views.

The Trump administration is seeking a crackdown on what it calls the "radical left", which in turn has prompted accusations of government overreach and claims Kirk's death is being used as a pretext to intrude on civil liberties.

Teachers and civil servants have been sacked for things they have said. And one famous TV talk show host - Jimmy Kimmel - was taken off air by his network over his comments about Kirk's death.