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DENVER, Colorado : US Senator Barack Obama made a surprise appearance on the third night of the Democratic Party's convention in Denver.
He took to the stage after delegates made history by naming him the first African-American candidate to lead a political party in the country's presidential election.
On Thursday, he will address the convention at a Denver sports stadium and 80,000 people are expected to attend. The Democrats hope to benefit from a sizeable bounce in the polls by the time the convention is over.
It was a day of spectacular political theatre at the Democratic Convention in Denver. The first surprise was an appearance by defeated candidate Hillary Clinton, who uttered words that will go down in political history.
"I move that Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by this convention by acclamation as the Democratic nominee for president of the United States," said Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton.
Senator Obama was in Denver - but not at the Convention Centre - when the big moment occurred. He flew into the city and spent the day preparing for the most important speech of his life, which he will make at the Denver sports stadium Invesco Field.
At the convention centre, another Clinton - the former president - provided the next excitement of the evening by endorsing Obama's bid for the presidency.
"Everything I learned in my eight years as president and in the work I have done since, in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job," said former US president Bill Clinton.
Privately, he had been described as deeply disappointed and even angry over his wife's rejection by the Democratic Party, but publicly, the Clintons said they are now part of Obama's team.
The tone of the night started to change when Senator Joe Biden - Obama's running mate - arrived to throw some red meat at the Democratic Party's delegates.
He launched a blistering attack on eight years of the Bush administration's leadership and argued that a vote for John McCain is a vote for a third Bush term.
As the night came to a close, Obama himself unleashed the second surprise of the evening - walking out on stage to provide the delegates, and the national television audience with an image of "the ticket" - the Obama-Biden combination that Democrats hope will trounce the Republicans in November.
It is now Obama's time to stamp his authority on the Democratic Party, persuade undecided voters to line behind him and usher in a new generation of leadership on the liberal side of American politics. - CNA /ls
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