From buzz to fizzle as rumours of Beyoncé performance at DNC fly, then fade

Beyoncé performs at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio in 2016. It was reported the star would be a special guest at the closing night of the DNC, but she did not appear. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP

As Kamala Harris prepared to deliver the biggest speech of her career, one of the year’s biggest rumours snowballed online and in the media about a potential surprise guest.

In an election campaign in which anything has seemed possible, a Democratic National Convention appearance by Beyoncé, whose song Freedom is the Harris campaign’s official song, seemed for a brief moment like it could be on the cards.