Viewers tuned into the Democratic National Convention’s final night on Thursday en masse, spiking during Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech and around when a highly anticipated special guest, rumored to be Beyoncé, was proposed to show up.
Speculation had been rife throughout the day that a musical heavyweight, likely Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, would show for a performance. Anticipation reached a fever pitch when celebrity news outlet TMZ reported Beyoncé was indeed going to perform, but it proved incorrect.
Organizers from the DNC denied she was scheduled, though Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” was played throughout the event.
Just in from Nielsen: The final night of the DNC drew an average of 26.2 million viewers across 15 networks — roughly 6 million more than the three nights prior.
Viewership surged during Kamala Harris’ speech with 28.9 million viewers tuning in from 10:31pm to 11:11pm ET.
— Elizabeth Wagmeister (@EWagmeister) August 23, 2024
The rampant speculation wasn’t helped by the likes of White House political director Emily Ruiz, who posted a bee emoji on her X account, interpreted as a reference to the singer’s “Queen Bee” nickname. But she subsequently apologized and claimed her 6-year-old son had taken her phone.
Reporting from the convention stated Beyoncé had even been sighted, and entry into seating for the United Center had started to be limited.
Some delegates in attendance even wore cowboy hats in preparation for Beyoncé. After Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) spoke, Harris took the stage in her appeal to the public, and the DNC was over.
TMZ apologized for its reporting that Beyoncé would give a surprise performance.
“To quote the great Beyoncé: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down … we got this one wrong,” the outlet wrote.
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Ultimately, the DNC apparently failed to dissuade rumors that she was there, not releasing any prominent denial. Democrats nonetheless reaped the benefits, with a massive audience tuning in to Harris accepting the nomination.
The DNC generally outperformed the Republican National Convention in television ratings, which showed several million more people watched the Democrats’ convention each night. Former President Donald Trump’s speech garnered 28.4 million people, while Harris’s had 28.9 million.