Donald Trump and other MAGA figureheads are set to speak at a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, a close ally of the president and controversial right-wing activist who was fatally shot at a US university earlier this month. Follow latest updates below.
Sunday 21 September 2025 18:54, UK
People are still taking their seats for Charlie Kirk's memorial service.
One man could be seen wheeling a giant wooden cross through the stadium.
Christian rock has been playing for the crowds as they wait.
By David Blevins, US correspondent
Donald Trump's cabinet has exchanged Washington DC for Glendale, Arizona in an unprecedented tribute to Charlie Kirk.
Never in living memory have a serving president and vice president both spoken at the memorial service of a non-elected US citizen.
The order of service is a who's who of US politics – secretary of state Marco Rubio, secretary of war Pete Hegseth and secretary of health Robert F Kennedy junior are all scheduled to address the congregation.
The memorial to the assassinated conservative activist is a combination of remembrance and rally-cry for the current administration.
Charlie Kirk's Turning Point organisation is credited with securing 46% of the youth vote for Donald Trump last year, an increase of 7% since 2020.
His widow Erika, who will also speak at the event, has vowed to continue his mission, and the administration will want to mobilise that youth vote ahead of next year's mid-term elections.
House speaker Mike Johnson has posted from Air Force One, showing him en route to the memorial service with Donald Trump.
Several families have left the stadium, saying they were told it's already full, our US partner network NBC News reports.
The service is expected to draw a crowd as large as 100,000 people, with the stadium fit for 63,000.
"It's all hands on deck," said Glendale police spokesperson Jose Santiago.
"We get two years to plan for a Super Bowl, but here we have one week."
Pictures taken inside show some empty seats, but security procedures are being undertaken thoroughly.
By James Matthews, US correspondent
In Glendale, this suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, they were queuing before 4am to get into the State Farm Arena.
The home of the Arizona Cardinals NFL team holds 63,000 - it's filled steadily over the course of the morning for a memorial, stadium-sized.
On every seat is a wristband bearing the words "We are Charlie Kirk" and placards with the message "Never Surrender, Remember Charlie Kirk".
A packet of paper handkerchiefs has been placed on every row - for many here, it will be emotional.
Stage scheduling has the music before the politics, and rock versions of various hymns are currently belting out - a Christian soundtrack in remembrance.
This occasion brings scale and spectacle to the memory of Charlie Kirk.
The Trump administration, top-tier, is on its way here to remember one of their own.
Charlie Kirk's right-wing politics carved a controversial figure, but there's no doubt he was a powerhouse in the Republican movement, engaging with the youth vote and generating a backing for Donald Trump that was critical in putting him back in power.
That movement is inside the State Farm arena in its numbers and, looking around this place, you see the support that Charlie built.
It had a lot to do with putting Donald Trump back into power at the last election.
How to harness this is a challenge being contemplated in the White House.
Pictures from inside the stadium show huge banners of Charlie Kirk draped from the rafters.
Mourners are filling up the seats, as media outlets set up cameras in front of the stage.
Donald Trump and other big MAGA names are expected to speak there later.
Charlie Kirk's widow Erika says she wears a blood-stained pendant that her husband was wearing when he was shot.
She told the New York Post the necklace was removed from Kirk's body as medics attempted to stop the bleeding after he was shot at a university in Utah earlier this month.
She said Kirk had received numerous death threats in the last year and had been traveling with a security team for months.
A friend had suggested he speak from behind bulletproof glass, to which Kirk replied "not yet", according to his widow.
Wearing "MAGA" and "Trump" hats, mourners are starting to fill the 73,000-seater State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
A list of politicians and notable MAGA figures are set to speak at Charlie Kirk's memorial today.
They include:
Members of the public began lining up outside the stadium hosting Charlie Kirk's memorial service before dawn to secure a spot.
They've been waiting several hours for the service, which is due to start imminently.
The crowd expected to fill the stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for the memorial of the MAGA celebrity, a testament to the massive influence he had accumulated in conservative America.
Kirk was a provocateur who at times made statements that some called racist, misogynistic, anti-immigrant and transphobic.
That has drawn backlash from conservatives who view the criticism as cherry-picking a few select moments to insult the legacy they see of an inspirational conservative leader.
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