President-elect Joe Biden and incoming Vice President Kamala Harris will be sworn into office Wednesday at the 59th presidential inauguration in U.S. history.
The pair are due to take the oath of office in front of the US Capitol at around noon, and will be joined by an array of politicians, celebrities and guest speakers.
The inaugural theme for this year’s ceremony, ‘America United’, aims to restore the ‘soul of America’, bring the nation together and create a ‘path to a brighter future’.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and in the wake of the siege at the US Capitol on January 6, Biden’s inauguration is set to be unlike any other in U.S. history.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) has announced a series of events to be broadcast throughout Inauguration Day that Americans can watch live from home as people have been ordered to refrain from attending in person.
In lieu of the usual crowds, approximately 191,500 flags will cover the National Mall in honor of those unable to travel to Washington due to the pandemic.
DailyMail.com has compiled an hour-by-hour schedule of all the events that have been announced for Inauguration Day so far. Here’s everything you need to know:
Three hours before Biden will be sworn in as the 46th U.S. President, he will be attending mass at St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral with members of the House and Senate at 8:45am.
Guests will then begin arriving on the steps of the Capitol at around 11am.
Because of the ongoing pandemic, organizers have slashed attendance from 200,000 down to just 1,000 people.
Most members of Congress are expected to be in attendance (and have all been permitted plus-ones), as are three of the four living former presidents: Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, and Hillary Clinton, will also be present.
President Trump will not be attending. He confirmed his absence in a tweet earlier this month shortly before he was permanently suspended from the social media platform.
Instead, Trump will leave DC on Air Force One at around 8am, with his destination set for his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida.
He is set to become the first president in more than a century to not attend his successor’s inauguration. Only three presidents have previously abstained, with the last, Andrew Johnson, coming in 1869.
Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, has confirmed he will be attending, along with his wife, Karen.
The inauguration ceremony will commence with remarks from Father Leo J. O’Donovan, a longtime friend of the Biden family and former president of Georgetown University.
Andrea Hall, the first African American female firefighter to become captain of the Fire Rescue Department in South Fulton, Georgia, will then recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
A number of live performances are also scheduled to take place throughout the ceremony.
The first on the bill is Lady Gaga, who will sing the national anthem. The singer previously teamed with Biden on domestic violence issues during his two terms as Vice President and also campaigned for him in the 2020 election.
Amanda Gorman, who became the U.S.’s first Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, will then recite a poem she has written for the occasion, titled: ‘The Hill We Climb.’
Much like the incoming president, Gorman also once had a speech impediment that she has worked hard to overcome. She has also recently announced plans to run for president in 2036 – the first year in which she will be eligible.
Jennifer Lopez will then follow Gorman’s reading with a song, as will singer-songwriter Garth Brooks.
The performances with then conclude with a benediction from longtime Biden family friend, Rev. Silvester Beaman, of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Biden shortly after the clock strikes noon.
Biden will take the oath with his hand on top of his 127-year-old, five-inch-thick family Bible, which will be held by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
Kamala Harris, the first woman, the first black and the first South Asian American vice president, will then take the oath immediately after.
Harris is due to be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the bench of the Supreme Court.
Like Harris, Sotomayor is a former prosecutor. She previously administered the oath to Biden when he was sworn in for his second term as Vice President in 2013.
Harris will be sworn in on two Bibles — one that belonged to a close family friend named Regina Shelton and another that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the country’s first African American Supreme Court Justice.
Biden and Harris are due to take the oath of office in front of the US Capitol at around 12pm, and will be joined by an array of politicians, celebrities and guest speakers
President-elect Joe Biden (centre) speaks during a Covid-19 memorial at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on January 19, the evening before he is inaugurated as US president
Joe Biden (right) and Kamala Harris (second left) watch with their spouses Dr Jill Biden (second right) and Douglas Emhoff (left) as the Covid-19 memorial is lit
The Reflecting Pool is lighted as a memorial to those who have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began last year
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and in the wake of the siege at the US Capitol on January 6, Biden’s inauguration is set to be unlike any other in U.S. history
Having then officially assumed office, Biden will deliver his first public address as the 46th President of the United States.
Biden is expected to focus on the inaugural theme of ‘America United’ in his address, in addition to national healing and laying out his vision to tackle the many crises the country is currently facing.
After the swearing in ceremony is completed, the new President and Vice President will take part in a Pass in Review with members of the military on the Capitol’s East Front.
Buildings across the US lit up on Tuesday night to participate in the National Memorial to Lives Lost to Covid-19. Pictured: The Empire State Building in New York City glows red
The Mercedes-Benz Superdrome in New Orleans, Louisiana glows red in support of the Biden Inaugural Committee’s Covid-19 Memorial: A National Moment of Unity and Remembrance on Tuesday night
Landmarks across the US illuminated in an amber hue to support the National Covid-19 memorial on Tuesday night. Pictured: The Pacific Wheel in Santa Monica, California
The AT&T Building in downtown Nashville, Tennessee was just one of the buildings to light up amber in support of the Covid-19 memorial on Tuesday night
Pass in Reviews are a military tradition in which honor the peaceful transfer of power to a new commander-in-chief. Every branch of the military will be represented.
Then, Biden, Harris and their spouses will then go to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Obamas, the Bushes and the Clintons will attend in a show of bipartisan unity.
A worker adjusts decorative flags on the National Mall on January 19, 2021 in Washington, DC. Tight security measures are in place for Inauguration Day due to greater security threats after the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6
Socially distanced: Guests – including Delaware Senator Chris Coons – were kept from crowding together with patriotic barriers
A view of the National Mall in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, ahead of the 59th Presidential Inauguration
The wreath laying will then be followed by the virtual ‘Parade Across America’, which is set to feature performances from all 56 U.S. states and territories.
Biden, Harris, and their spouses will be watching the parade from the White House. They will receive a presidential escort there, with a military parade as well as the drumlines for the University of Delaware and Howard University — Biden’s and Harris’ alma maters.
The parade will then commence upon their arrival at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The event will be hosted by the actor Tony Goldwyn with appearances by Earth, Wind and Fire and former ‘Daily Show’ host Jon Stewart.
In total, the parade will include 1,391 people. Among them will be featured heroes from across the country, including Jason Zgonc, 12, an Atlanta trumpeter who played for hospital workers during their break times over the summer to lift their spirits.
Preparations are made ahead of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s Presidential Inauguration in front of the White House
Members of the National Guard patrol near the Capitol building on Tuesday morning. Two National Guardsman are now being removed from the inauguration security mission after they were found to have ties to fringe right group militias after the Guard’s chief said he wasn’t concerned about the potential for insider threats
Master Gunnery Sargent Matthew Harding, a trumpet player with ‘The President’s Own’ United States Marine Band, blows into his instrument during a rehearsal for the Inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden
A street vendor sells Biden-Harris merchandise ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ inauguration ceremony
Preparations continue at the National Mall and the stage on Capitol Hill ahead of the 59th Presidential Inauguration
During the afternoon, Harris will be tasked with swearing in three new Democratic Senators: Georgia election winners Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, and her replacement as California senator, Alex Padilla.
New White House press secretary Jen Psaki will also hold her first press briefing.
The grand-finale of the inauguration is the star-studded made-for-TV event ‘Celebrating America’, which will commence at 8:30pm ET.
The show is being hosted by the Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, with actresses Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington also set to introduce segments throughout the special, including one called ‘stories of young people making a difference in their communities.’
A swath of musical performers are also slated to take center stage. Among them is rock legend Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, Foo Fighters, Demi Lovato, Ant Clemons, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard.
According to the inaugural committee, each of the artists will perform from ‘iconic locations across the country’.
The special is due to last 90 minutes and will be available to watch on numerous networks and cable TV channels, including NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and MSNBC. It will also be streamed live on the committee’s YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch pages.
Biden and Harris are also both expected to speak before the show ends.
Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the oath of office to Biden sometime after the clock strikes 12pm. Biden will take the oath with his hand on top of his 127-year-old, 5-inch-thick family Bible, which will be held by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden
Kamala Harris, the first woman, the first black and the first South Asian American vice president, will then take the oath immediately after. Harris will be sworn in on two Bibles — one that belonged to a close family friend named Regina Shelton and another that belonged to Thurgood Marshall, the country’s first African American Supreme Court Justice
Stand-ins for Vice President Pence and Mrs. Pence walk on to the podium during a rehearsal for the 59th Presidential Inauguration
Numerous extra safety precautions have been put in place in and around DC ahead of the inauguration, after supporters of Trump stormed the Capitol on January 6 to protest the election results
National Guard troops stand guard in Downtown Washington, DC on Tuesday – just one day out from the inauguration
National Guard troops prepare riot shields before entering a security perimeter near the Washington Monument on Tuesday morning
The Secret Service has incorporated the term ‘Green Zone’ into its inauguration security maps with the area pictured above on lockdown until after the inauguration
On Tuesday night, the pair used their first joint appearance in Washington D.C. to commemorate the loss of more than 400,000 American lives to COVID-19.
The ceremony was held in front of the Lincoln Memorial, to mark the illumination of 400 lights situated around the Reflecting Pool to pay tribute to the staggering number of dead.
Numerous extra safety precautions have been put in place in and around DC ahead of the inauguration, after supporters of Trump stormed the Capitol on January 6 to protest the election results.
Beams of light from the Capitol grounds illuminate the night sky on Tuesday as the United States prepares to inaugurate its 46th president
Security around the inauguration is tighter than usual following the storming of the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters two weeks ago
National Guardsmen and police guard the streets of Washington on Tuesday night ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday afternoon
Over 25,000 National Guard members have been called up to keep the event secure. ‘Unscalable’ security fencing has also been erected near the Capitol, and the White House and numerous streets have been shut down.
The National Mall, which is usually where onlookers gather, has also been closed off.
Two groups that had permits for demonstrations agreed to hold them in different areas nearby, and attendees will be screened on their way to the demonstrations.
A number of COVID-19 safety protocols will also be in place throughout.
In addition to the dramatic slashing of tickets available, attendees will be socially distanced, and they will have to wear masks.
Further, the traditional luncheon, which follows the inaugural ceremony, and the inaugural ball have been canceled, with the ‘Celebrating America’ special taking its place.