On the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, made famous by the Rocky Balboa movie series, Kamala Harris brought a blockbuster end to her campaign.

Harris took the stage just after 11 p.m. and raised her fist to the night sky to cheers from the 30,000-strong crowd.

On the eve of an election for the ages, he repeated a closing message of hope and unity.

“We finish as we began,” he said, “with optimism, with joy, knowing that we, the people, have the power to shape our future and face any challenge when we do it together.”

The vice president was ushered to the speaker’s podium by Oprah Winfrey, who opted for a darker final message, warning that depending on the outcome, Americans “may never vote again.”

It was a star-studded evening, with a dazzling stage filled by Fat Joe, a rapper of Puerto Rican descent who called on Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and other Latinos to steer the country away from Donald Trump.

So will the excitement be reflected in the ballot box? Ryan Richardson, a young woman from Philadelphia, believes so.

“I think Kamala Harris has done more in the last 120-odd days than any person could ever humanly imagine,” he says.

“If this isn’t a moment for the history books, I don’t know what is. The fact that he excited voters across the age, racial and socio-economic spectrum and brought us all to Philadelphia tonight to make history is truly amazing.”

Harris suggested that he chose Philadelphia’s landmark with his own story in mind, calling the steps made famous by the Rocky movies “a tribute to those who started as underdogs and climbed to victory.”

The Harris team believes she is no longer the underdog, driven by early voting data that shows women are turning out in large numbers. Polls show women support Harris by a significant margin.

Outside Harris’ earlier rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where voters were split between her and Trump, a group of a dozen women chanted her name. They sang and danced “Kam-a-la”.

Pat Hillbish was a registered Republican but said she couldn’t consider voting for Trump.

“I’m voting for Kamala,” he said, “because she stands for righteousness, truth and justice. And I’m so sick of the hate.”

In the first election since the overturning of Roe v Wade and the repeal of the constitutional right to vote, reproductive rights were a motivating factor for some voters.

“I certainly hope women will vote for Harris,” Jean Gerding said. “I also hope that it’s men who understand that the government really shouldn’t play a role in our decision about abortion.”

Harris did not mention Donald Trump by name at her last rally. She had previously only referred to him as “the other guy.”

He undertook the shortest of his presidential campaigns in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the United States. The people of this city will determine where the country will go next in the coming hours.