US election 2024: All you need to know about the Democrat Party convention

In just three months time, US voters will be heading to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election.

Former president Donald Trump is standing for the third time for the Republican party, while current Democrat vice-president Kamala Harris is making her first White House run after the incumbent Joe Biden opted to stand aside last month.

The Republican Party held their convention in July, which saw Donald Trump and his VP pick J.D. Vance formally accept their party’s nomination for president and vice-president.

This week it’s the Democratic Party’s turn to hold their convention, and we’ve detailed everything you need to know about the momentous political occasions.

What are the US conventions?

Since 1832, the conventions have been the preferred mechanism for the parties to officially nominate their candidates to run for president and vice-president.

They take place every four years, typically a few months ahead of the election, and also allow the parties to formally adopt their policy platform – similar to a UK party manifesto.

The incumbent party tends to hold their convention second, and both conventions usually last three to four days, which is also similar to the UK political party conferences.

When are they held?

The Democratic Party convention began today, Monday, August 19, and will run until Thursday, August 22, when Harris is expected to make her speech.

While the Republicans held theirs from Monday, July 15, to Thursday, July 18, coming just days after Trump survived an assassination attempt.

Where do they take place?

The Democratic convention is being held in Chicago, Illinois, in the United Centre Arena. The venue is normally home to the midwestern state’s basketball team, the Bulls.

In Milwaukee, the Republican convention took place in Wisconsin Center District, across the Baird Center, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Miller High Life Theatre.

Around 50,000 people typically attend a US party convention.

What happens there?

Conventions are typically a mixture of big speeches from political heavyweights – think former Presidents, CEOs and senators – with the odd celebrity appearance.

Controversial media personality Russell Brand hosted his web show live at this year’s Republican National Convention (RNC), while Scandal actress Kerry Washington is expected to attend the Democratic National Convention (DNC).

As well as all that, there’s the drier business of approving rules, the party’s election platform and officially casting ballots and announcing the nominees, thanks to the state delegates.

But Harris and her VP pick, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, have already been nominated by the party, so this DNC will focus on their policy platform, from inflation to climate change and abortion, and gun violence. 

Where can I follow the coverage?

The convention is not open to the public, other than as volunteers, but US TV networks including C-SPAN cover the event.

This year the DNC also plans to live-stream speeches on Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube.