What to know about the 2024 Democratic National Convention (2024)

The Democratic National Convention is set to kick off Monday, as thousands of delegates gather in Chicago less than 80 days away from Election Day.

All the focus will be on Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, both of whom Democrats already nominated via a virtual roll call earlier this month. The pair is working on an expedited campaign timeline following the shakeup at the top of the ticket after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month.

Biden’s immediate endorsem*nt of Harris avoided the potential chaos of an open convention as the party quickly coalesced around the vice president. Harris tapped Walz as her running mate less than two weeks ago, and the duo have swung around the country rallying in crucial battleground states.

The convention is expecting 50,000 visitors, including 5,000 delegates and alternates. Organizers also anticipate tens of thousands will take to the streets to protest outside of the convention, particularly over the war in Gaza. Protests are held every day from Sunday through Thursday, with the largest planned for Monday.

Here is everything you need to know before the DNC begins this week.

When does the DNC start?

The convention will commence on Monday Aug. 19 and run through Thursday Aug. 22.

Where is the DNC?

Chicago is the host city of this year’s convention. The Democratic Party chose Chicago because it “represents the diversity” of the party and country as a “union city that sits at the heart of the Midwest,” according to the convention’s website.

Events will take place at two main venues: the United Center, home to the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, and McCormick Place, a convention center about six miles away near Lake Michigan. The United Center, which also hosted the 1996 DNC, will feature the convention’s primetime programming, including major televised speeches, performances and remote video presentations.

Each day of the convention will start with state delegations meeting at their respective hotels in the morning for delegation meetings with notable party leaders. Delegates will then move to the McCormick Place convention center for caucus meetings and Democratic party briefings. There will be celebratory parties and receptions afterward, followed by everyone going to the United Center for the primetime programming.

Who is speaking at the DNC?

While the full schedule of speakers has yet to be announced, Walz is expected to speak Wednesday night, and Harris will close out the convention with the final speech Thursday. Here’s what we know so far:

Monday:

President Joe Biden
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson

Tuesday:

Why are Harris and Walz already the nominees?

Candidates’ nominations traditionally become official at the convention, where the presidential and vice presidential hopefuls deliver their acceptance speeches.

But this year, the Democratic National Committee conducted a “virtual roll call” on Aug. 6 to meet the deadline of an Ohio law that required party nominees to be selected before Aug. 7 to appear on the ballot in the state. Although the law was repealed earlier this summer, Democrats worried that litigation could force their candidates off the ballot because the new provisions don’t take effect until Sept. 1.

Nearly 100 percent of DNC delegates voted to support Harris, and DNC Chair Minyon Moore certified Walz as Harris’ running mate.

The party still plans to hold a “ceremonial roll call” at the DNC.

What is the DNC platform?

The draft of the party’s platform, a sweeping set of policy priorities for Democrats, paints itself in stark contrast to former President Donald Trump, who is mentioned nearly 150 times. It includes raising a billionaire income tax, lowering the cost of child care, investing in clean energy and restoring reproductive rights.

On the war in Gaza, one of the Democratic Party’s thornie*st issues as of late, the platform voices support for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas but does not commit to ceasing U.S. supply of munitions to Israel — which progressives have demanded of Biden and Harris.

The full DNC membership will vote on the platform at the convention.

How to watch the DNC speakers?

The major broadcast networks will air one hour of coverage of the convention at 10 p.m. Eastern Time each night.

But the convention will also stream in its entirety across over a dozen platforms, including, for the first time, vertical streams across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, according to the Democratic National Convention Committee. Primetime convention programming will take place from 6:30-11 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday and 7-11 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday through Thursday.

C-SPAN also says it will have gavel-to-gavel coverage of the proceedings, and the official livestream will be at DemConvention.com.

The full list of platforms is as follows:

Computer, tablet or mobile device

TV device apps

AppleTV
RokuTV
FireTV

TV providers

Comcast Xfinity X1
Comcast Xfinity Flex
DIRECTV via Satellite
DIRECTV satellite-free and DIRECTV STREAM
U-verse TV

Shia Kapos contributed to this report.