US election 2016: 'Let's make history again,' says Beyonce as Hillary Clinton looks to stars

Hillary Clinton appears alongside Beyonce and Jay-Z in Cleveland CREDIT: EPA

If Hillary Clinton doesn't win the election on Tuesday, the fault won't be in her stars.

Hoping some celebrity glamour will boost her campaign, the Democratic nominee enlisted power couple Beyonce and Jay Z to headline a concert in support of her bid for the White House. 

read also  Hillary Clinton takes 3-point poll lead over Donald Trump - but that lead is within the margin of error

"Look how far we've come from having no voice to being on the brink of history - again," said Beyoncé, who noted that less than a century ago, women did not have the right to vote. "But we have to vote."

The singer says she was thrilled that her young nephew was able to witness Barack Obama's 2008 election as the nation's first black president.

Now she wants her daughter "to grow up seeing a woman lead this country and know her possibilities are limitless," Beyoncé said. "That's why I'm with her."

After raucous performances from Beyoncé and her husband, Mrs Clinton had one simple message for the packed, cheering crowd at Cleveland's Wolstein Centre: "Help us win Ohio."

Mrs Clinton's campaign is turning to a series of free concerts to appeal to young and minority voters not necessarily motivated to vote for her. 

A series of hip-hop stars were part of the show, including Big Sean, J. Cole and Chance the Rapper, who encouraged the crowd to vote for Mrs Clinton - at the very least just to prevent Donald Trump from winning the White House.

"His conversation is divisive," said Jay Z. "He cannot be our president".

In stark contrast, her Republican rival, Donald Trump, was on his own. 

"I didn't have to bring J-Lo or Jay Z," he told a crowded rally on Friday night in Hershey, Pennsylvania. "I am here all by myself. Just me. No guitar, no piano, no nothing."

With just days to go before the election on Tuesday,  Mrs  Clinton now has a five-point lead, according to a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll.

The survey gives the Democratic nominee the backing of 44 per cent of likely voters, while 39 per cent said they will vote for Mr Trump. 

But at the same time the poll shows that the races in the pivotal states of Florida, North Carolina and Michigan have tilted away from Clinton over the past week and are now considered too close to call.

After a highly divisive campaign, American authorities are on high alert following reports that al-Qaeda may be planning to launch attacks on US soil on the day of the presidential election. 

Law enforcement agencies in the states of New York, Texas and Virginia are bolstering their security presence after intelligence warned that they may be targets for attacks.

“The public should expect to continue to observe an increased law enforcement and security presence across communities in public places," an American intelligence source said.