Just three months before the 2024 election, thousands of people gathered in Chicago this week to support Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention.

After the first two days of party celebrations, the Democrats will gather in the United Center Arena on Wednesday to hear from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the party’s vice presidential candidate.

The evening will feature numerous prominent Democrats, including rising stars such as Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The congress began on Monday featuring prime-time remarks from President Joe Biden – an emotional speech that was frequently punctuated by thunderous applause and chants of “Thank you, Joe.”

Tuesday The ceremonial roll call vote took place, in which the state delegations declared their support for the candidate team of Harris and Walz, and the evening ended with rousing speeches by Barack and Michelle Obama.

The party has already officially nominated Vice President Harris as its nominee after President Biden dropped out of the race. Tuesday’s in-person roll call was a formality, with appearances by celebrities including rapper Lil Jon.

The political conventions in the United States, which take place every four years before a presidential election, have their origins in the 1830s, when a group of Democratic delegates supporting President Andrew Jackson met in Baltimore to nominate him for a second term.

Here’s what you should know:

WednesdayParticipants include former President Bill Clinton, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Mrs Harris’s vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will deliver the prime-time speech following his nomination.

Before Mr. Walz speaks, delegates will hear from prominent U.S. senators, including Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

Two Democratic governors – Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Wes Moore of Maryland – who represent the next generation of party leadership will also play important roles.

But it won’t just be Democrats who will have their say this evening.

Olivia Troye, a Trump administration official, and Geoff Duncan, a Republican who served as Georgia’s lieutenant governor until 2023, will also deliver remarks.

The most important night of the congress is Thursdaywhen Vice President Harris takes the stage. She will officially accept the presidential nomination and deliver her speech on the last night of the party’s convention, which is dedicated to the theme “For the Future.”

After numerous delays at the convention on Monday, DNC organizers announced that the program would begin earlier on Tuesday, but speakers remained on the call late into the evening.

During successive speeches on Tuesday, Barack and Michelle Obama mixed jokes with serious appeals to Democrats to vote in November – and pointed out that Ms Harris is in a neck-and-neck race with Republican Donald Trump.

“Hope is returning,” said Mrs. Obama. This is a contrast to the “tumult and chaos” during Trump’s time in the White House, Obama added.

Another speaker was Trump’s former spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, who said she had switched to voting for Ms Harris, declaring: “I could no longer be part of this madness.”

And America’s Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, was joined on stage by his son Cole, who called him a “dorky father.” Mr. Emhoff then praised his wife, Mrs. Harris, as the “right person” for him and the presidency.

To MondayThe convention heard from Mr Biden. While an emotional defense of his presidencyhe said, “America, I have given you my best.”

Hillary Clinton, the 2016 presidential candidate, paid tribute to Mr Biden that same evening and expressed her hope that Mrs Harris could finally break the “highest, hardest glass ceiling” in the USA by becoming the first female president.

Other speakers that evening included progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Americans affected by abortion bans in Republican-controlled states.

With Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz nominated in advance of the event, this year’s convention will focus on speeches by prominent Democrats and the adoption of the party platform.

The delegates will work throughout the day to finalise the platform, a draft of which has already been published.

The focus is on a wide range of issues, including plans to reduce inflation, curb climate change and combat gun violence.

In the draft, Democrats compare their party’s individual positions to Project 2025, an ultra-conservative draft from the Heritage Foundation that shows what a second Trump administration could look like. Trump is trying to distance himself from this project, even though several of his allies were involved in its drafting.

In-person attendance at the convention will be limited to volunteers, but like the Republican National Convention, there will be extensive national media coverage and the convention itself will be live-streamed on social media platforms.

You can follow BBC News coverage – with on-the-ground reporting and analysis – on the website, app and our live stream.

The BBC News Channel will broadcast special coverage every evening from 8pm ET (1am BST). Special episodes of The Global Story and Americast podcasts can be found on BBC Sounds and other podcast platforms.

Sign up to North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher’s election newsletter “US Election Unspun” to receive his assessment of the week’s events directly in your inbox.

About 50,000 people are expected to attend this year’s convention in Chicago, including thousands of delegates selected by state Democratic parties, as well as superdelegates, who are key elected officials, notable members of the Democratic Party, and some members of the Democratic National Committee.

Thousands of media representatives will also be present.

It will be a star-studded convention with appearances from several celebrities. In 2020, actresses Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Eva Longoria attended the convention, while Elizabeth Banks and America Ferrera performed in 2016.

There have been rumors about whether megastars Beyoncé and Taylor Swift will attend this year, but neither has confirmed their participation.

Demonstrations took place outside the DNC venue to protest against US support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

A protest on Tuesday near the Israeli consulate in Chicago culminated in scuffles between demonstrators and police and led to several arrests.

Earlier, Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Monday for a largely peaceful protestand called for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to US support for Israel. Several were arrested when dozens of them broke through a security fence.

The number of participants was apparently well below the tens of thousands that the organizers had hoped for, and also below the 15,000 they claimed had come.

In his speech that same evening, Biden acknowledged that the activists “are right,” adding that “many innocent people are being killed on both sides.”