Start time, speakers, how to watch and stream the first night

Vice President Kamala Harris will be in the spotlight this week as the 2024 Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago on Monday.

Harris has only been the Democratic presidential candidate for about a month, rising to the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. So the DNC will be a platform for her to let voters know where she stands on vital issues and offer a contrast to the policies being pushed by her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.

Ahead of the DNC, Harris campaigned with her vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on a bus tour of western Pennsylvania on Sunday. Despite favorable poll numbers in recent weeks, Harris told reporters she has a lot of work to do to defeat Trump in November.

“I very much consider us outsiders,” Harris said. “We have a lot of work to do to get the American people out there. That’s why we’re on this bus tour today and we’re going to travel around this country as we’ve done all along, talking to people, listening to people, and hopefully, over the next 79 days, we’re going to get the American people out there.”

Among those expected to attend Monday night is Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was shortlisted to be Harris’ running mate. It’s unclear whether Shapiro will be a speaker Monday, but he will attend the event, according to his public schedule.

The host of the ceremony on Monday evening will be Scandal AND Ghost actor Tony Goldwyn. The remaining three nights of the convention will be hosted by Republican political strategist Ana Navarro (who has voted Democratic since Trump’s 2016 campaign) and Hollywood stars Kerry Washington and Mindy Kaling.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the first night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention:

What time does the 2024 Democratic National Convention start?

Live coverage of the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET and will last four hours, though most television stations will not begin live coverage until 10 p.m.

The convention will be streamed live on the DNC’s official website and all social media channels. You can also stream it live on Inquirer.comcourtesy of DNC:

In Philadelphia, CBS plans to broadcast live starting at 8 p.m. NBC, ABC and WHYY (via PBS) are scheduled to broadcast live tonight at 10 p.m. Fox will not broadcast live.

CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and NewsNation will broadcast the event live hours before it begins, while also providing analysis of the events.

C-SPAN will broadcast every minute of the DNC, something the network has done for both parties’ conventions since 1984. It will also broadcast coverage of C-SPAN and on the C-SPAN Now mobile app.

Comcast Xfinity X1 subscribers can watch programming by simply saying “DNC” into their remote.

Who will speak on Monday evening?

President Joe Biden will take center stage Monday as he delivers a speech that will both highlight his vice presidential candidate’s candidacy and bid farewell to politics after more than 50 years of service in Washington.

Biden will operate his speech to say Harris is the best person to finish the campaign he abandoned after a disastrous debate performance in June, according to the New York TimesTopics will include protecting democracy and preventing Trump from returning to the White House.

Biden and Harris have appeared together only once so far since dropping out of the race, but the president plans to step up his campaign schedule after the convention, colleagues told the New York Times.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign, is also scheduled to speak on Monday.

Democrats have not yet released a full speaking schedule for Monday, but according to media reports, here is who is likely to speak:

What is the full schedule for the 2024 Democratic National Convention this week?

The Democratic National Convention will take place over four nights, Monday through Thursday. The convention program is scheduled to air live each night from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. ET.

Here are the most high-profile speakers for the remaining nights of the convention, according to Democrats and media reports, including local lawmakers:

What purpose do such conventions actually serve?

Although political conventions have largely evolved into televised events designed to promote political parties and their leaders, the convention also serves to formalize the party’s platform, Democrats have not updated their figures since Biden withdrew from the race.According to the Associated Press.

“The Democratic Party platform will embody the values ​​of our party and build on the historic achievements of Democrats during the Biden-Harris administration,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement to The Associated Press last week. “The Platform Committee has worked diligently with stakeholders from across our party to craft a bold, progressive agenda for the next four years, and the platform delegates will vote on at the convention will reflect that process.”

Typically, there is also a formal delegate vote to officially nominate the party’s presidential candidate, but Harris is already officially nominated thanks to a virtual delegate vote held earlier this month.

When will Harris and Trump debate?

Harris and Trump have agreed to at least one presidential debate. It will take place on September 10 in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center at 9:00 p.m., hosted by ABC News. Here’s what we know about tickets to the event.

This isn’t the first time Philadelphia has hosted a presidential debate. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford debated at the Walnut Street Theatre in 1976, the first televised debate since Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy’s celebrated 1960 showdown. The city also hosted the vice presidential debate between George H. W. Bush and Geraldine Ferraro at the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center in 1984.

Trump proposed two more debates in September, but Harris’ campaign rejected them. Instead, Harris’ campaign said it was open to a second debate with Trump in October if he showed up for the Sept. 10 debate.