Analysis: Correspondent Logan Church, in Philadelphia for the US Presidential debate, asks what voters want to hear from the Democrat and Republican candidates.

In the bowels of Philadelphia's Convention Centre, the biggest show on earth is being staged.

Hundreds of desks have been set up in neat rows, electrical outlets installed by the thousand. Kilometres of cables, and makeshift live TV studios dotted around the room.

Around the corner, the “Spin Room” is ready for politicians and campaign proxies. Someone is sorting out lines of bottles at the water coolers.

This is the media centre at the ABC Presidential debate, and my home for the next couple of days.

Presidential debates have always attracted a lot of interest in this country. But Joe Biden’s abysmal performance at the last one - and the subsequent suspension of his re-election campaign - means not just the United States but the whole world will be watching the first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

How will she do? Will this spark the end of her “honeymoon period”? Will she be able to control Trump?

And for the former president, who has far more experience than Harris on these presidential debate stage, can he get under her skin? Can he make her slip up?

Sure, policy positions will be grilled. But everything - from how a candidate walks on, to how they dress, to where their eyes fall - will be under the microscope for tens of millions of people to examine.

One day before the debate and walking the streets of central Philadelphia in search of dinner, I spoke to Americans who are watching it all unfold around them in their city with a mixture of stunned amusement and deep interest.

“Just before I got to you, I walked past 30 cameras around the corner,” said Marshall Lockhart, a Philadelphia local.

“I think it will be a really good debate, hopefully we will get some answers as there are some grey areas for both candidates.”

I asked him what he wanted answers to.

“Just about the general public safety, because safety is a big thing in Philadelphia, and overall, the inflation and the economy as our family is just making it week to week and living paycheck to paycheck,” he said.

“It has been a rough time, especially in Philadelphia, we are experiencing the residuals from the pandemic. We haven't recovered.”

Another man, who’d travelled into the city for work, was feeling increasingly nervous about the upcoming election.

“The division is disappointing. I try and avoid conversations about it to be completely honest,” he said.

“I guess it depends on what side of the spectrum you're on or how you want to look at things, but I would say some people are operating out of a posture of fear, while others are operating out of a posture of hope. What people hear is the noise, that's what people react to.”

I asked him what he believed was at stake in this election.

“I think certainly the future elections could be completely different, and I think that is a concern. Respect for the system does not really seem to be at the centre of things.”

The candidates for their part have been busy prepping. Harris has been staying at hotel in Pittsburgh, and it’s understood she has been doing mock debates with members of her campaign team.

Meanwhile Trump, who has previously claimed he doesn’t prepare for debates, is understood to be at his Mar a Lago estate in Florida with his closest advisers.

The debate room itself is small, compared to the size of the interest in the event. The space - in the nearby National Constitution Center - won’t have a live audience. The only people present will be the candidates, the moderators from ABC, production crew, and the unseen Secret Service.

Both sides seem to be ready to pull it all on the line tomorrow. Let’s see who comes out on top, and if we get those answers.