The former president is now speaking about the assassination attempt. This is the first time he has spoken on a stage since a gunman targeted him at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

“You’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s actually too painful to tell,” he tells the crowd.

“I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear.

“I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that - it can only be a bullet’ - and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood.

“I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground.”

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor

Image source, Reuters

Trump walks out on stage, taking his time to absorb the crowd’s adoration - and give the photographers on and around the stage a chance to capture his arrival.

Trump strides over to stage left, mouthing the words to God Bless the USA.

He raises his fist and salutes the crowd - as well as the VIP box across the floor where his family sits.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent, reporting from inside the arena

Donald Trump has visited the arena every night of this week’s Republican National Convention.

Every time, he has been greeted by thunderous applause from the crowd.

But he’s never approached a microphone, instead sitting in the VIP box while others sang his praises.

Now, for the first time since the attempted assassination on Saturday, he appears on camera to speak to the crowd and the nation.

Expect the former president to talk in detail about that day. It is a rare opportunity for one of the best-known American politicians to use his brush with death to try to redefine himself to the American public.

We heard from the campaign before tonight that this speech would likely focus on unity, and Trump has wasted no time in getting the desired message across.

“The discord and division in our society must be healed. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together. Or we fall apart,” he says.

“I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America,” he adds.

Trump then formally accepts the party’s presidential nomination - his third Republican nomination in a row - to huge cheers in the arena.

The crowd is raucous. Trump has taken the microphone and is addressing the arena.

Image source, EPA

Dana White called Trump "a man who truly cares about people". The UFC chief slams the media for claiming that Trump is selfish.

"Nobody in the Trump campaign has ever told me what to say," he says.

"Nobody tells me what to say, and I'm nobody's puppet," he adds as the crowd cheers, rising to their feet.

"I'm in the tough guy business and this man is the toughest, most resilient human being I have ever met in my entire life," he shouts.

Image source, Getty Images

The former president has strode out on to the stage here in the arena and is about to speak.

His walk-on anthem is God Bless the USA, performed by its writer, Lee Greenwood, himself.

The crowd is standing and cheering, as they have done whenever he is shown on the jumbo screen.

You can watch a live stream at the top of this page.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White is next to speak. He will introduce Donald Trump for his nomination acceptance speech.

His selection as a speaker highlights the combative theme.

The crowd has been chanting "fight" throughout the night, and we heard earlier from iconic wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor

A big theme we’re hearing in this convention is "unity" - an implicit contrast to the infighting engulfing Democrats as they try to oust their presumptive nominee, Biden.

Trump is a combative politician, known to mock and attack his enemies.

But this week we have seen several of his defeated political rivals come up and speak in support of his race. It’s a sign of how firmly Trump controls the party right now.

“Our party is not 100% united,” said Texas delegate Abhiram Garapati. “It’s 1,000% united.”

Image source, Getty Images

Kid Rock is on the stage performing a special Trump-themed rendition of his hit American Bad Ass.

The singer was not listed in the convention schedule, but earlier today he posted a video of himself on social media landing in Milwaukee, saying he'd come "to support our tried and true, red white and blue 100% American bad ass president".

Kid Rock has adapted the lyrics, referring to “No-Show Joe”, a jab at President Biden.

At one stage he led the crowd in a chant of "fight, fight, fight", which we've heard repeatedly this week.

This anthem used to be the walk-on song for WWE wrestler The Undertaker, and Kid Rock has sanitised the expletive-laden lyrics.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor

Image source, Getty Images

The crowd - and press - is visibly surprised when they hear the speaker announce “the next First Lady”, Melania Trump.

She is wearing a fitted red suit and a smile as classical music plays and spotlights dance over the arena while she steps to the VIP box.

Though Melania's appearance here tonight was expected, we have not seen or heard much from her during this campaign. She did not appear publicly at his trials this year and last.

It seemed she had stopped campaigning, but now she is firmly back in the spotlight - for tonight at least.

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump has been sitting in the VIP box with two of his grandchildren, Luke and Carolina.

But it seems to be past their bedtime, and the two young ones are nodding off in the laps of their mother and grandfather.

They are the children of Eric Trump, who just finished speaking on stage.

The Trump family are a dominant theme here at the convention, and many speakers have specifically mentioned that Trump is a grandfather.

Also in the VIP box are JD Vance and his wife Usha, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Don Jr's partner, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

Image source, Getty Images

The former US first lady has just walked into the arena, looking graceful in a red blazer and skirt.

It's her first public appearance at this Republican convention.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from the arena floor

As Eric invokes Trump’s raised fist after the shooting at his rally, the loudest chant of “Fight, fight, fight” is heard in the arena.

The Nebraska delegation is especially engaged, with a few members nearly jumping off the ground as they pump their fists in the air.

Trump has just walked out of the arena and is due to speak shortly, though we're currently an hour behind schedule.

First up, we're expecting UFC chief Dana White to speak and a performance from Kid Rock before the headliner takes to the stage.

Image source, EPA

Eric Trump, the ex-president's second son, is speaking to the crowd. His brother, Donald Trump Jr, spoke yesterday.

Eric says that eight years ago Trump sat his family down and told them he "had chosen to step into the arena to fight for the soul of America" and "leave behind an unbelievable business empire".

His opponents, he says, are committed to "drag him through every last courthouse in America, to take his life".

There's been some interesting outfits among Trump supporters at the RNC this week, here are a few that stood out.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Trump's son Eric is speaking now. He's the last of the Trump family members we are expecting to hear from at this convention.

Eric has been a more active political surrogate in recent weeks, and has been a regular presence at this convention.