Today’s inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden will be like no other.
The U.S. Washington’s Capitol area will be closed to the public, as will the National Mall. There will be no cheering crowds lining the Washington streets for a parade, and the traditional balls celebrating a new administration have been canceled.However, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent attack on the Capitol building, there will be a change of power in the United States government.
Biden, along with Kamala Harris, the first female vice president in the country’s history, will take the oath of office as prescribed by the Constitution.
Here is the schedule for today’s inauguration ceremony:
11 a.m.: Biden will arrive at the U.S. Capitol.
11:15 a.m.: The inauguration program will begin.
- Invocation – Father Leo J. O’Donovan, a former Georgetown University president, will give the invocation.
- Pledge of Allegiance – Andrea Hall, a firefighter from Georgia, will give the pledge.
- National anthem – Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem.
- Poetry reading – Amanda Gorman, the first national youth poet laureate, will give a reading.
- Musical performance – Jennifer Lopez will sing.
11:55 a.m.: Harris will be sworn in as vice president by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Noon: Biden will be sworn in as 46th president by Chief Justice John Roberts.
At ceremony’s end: The Rev. Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware, will give the benediction.
2:30 — 3 p.m.: Biden will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with Harris, her husband, Doug Emhoff, and former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, and former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
3:15 — 3:30 p.m.: Joe and Jill Biden will receive a presidential military escort to the White House.
TBD: The “Parade Across America,” a virtual parade, will replace the traditional parade held in the streets of Washington. It will begin once the Bidens enter the White House. The parade, according to inauguration organizers, will feature communities around the country.
8:30 p.m. – Actor Tom Hanks will host a show featuring remarks by Biden and Harris, and performances by Demi Lovato, Justin Timberlake, John Legend, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Kerry Washington, Ant Clemons and others.
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