Washington: The inauguration ceremony will mark the formal culmination of the presidential transition of Democrat Joe Biden, who became president-elect after beating Donald Trump in the US presidential election on November 3 last year.
The Electoral College vote that took place on December 14, 2020, formalised the victory for Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris.
Here are some highlights of the series of events that will unfold at the White House on Wednesday.
Limited attendance
The live audience will be limited to the members of the 117th United States Congress and, for each, one guest of their choice, resembling a State of the Union address.
Inaugural theme
“America United” and “Our Determined Democracy: Forging a More Perfect Union” — a reference to the Preamble to the United States Constitution — will serve as the inaugural themes.
Biden oldest
Joe Biden will be the oldest president at 78 years and 61 days, older than Ronald Reagan, who vacated office at 77 years, 349 days.
First from Delaware
Joe Biden will also be the first president from Delaware, the second Catholic after John F Kennedy, and the fifteenth former vice president to serve as president.
Kamala Harris feat
Kamala Harris will be the first woman, first African-American, and first Asian-American vice-president of the US.
Trump not to attend
After unprecedented scenes were witnessed at the US Capitol earlier this month, Donald Trump declared that he would not be attending Biden’s presidential inauguration.
Cost
In comparison with the past inaugurations, the drastic reduction in crowd size at Biden’s inauguration was expected to reduce costs.
Typically, presidential inaugurations cost about US$100 million. In September 2020, prior to implementing attendance restrictions, costs were estimated to go over US$44.9 million.
Official musical playlist
The Biden Inaugural Committee announced an official musical playlist of 46 songs (symbolising Biden as the 46th president of the United States of America) that was curated by disc jockey D-Nice and music label Raedio and created by actress Issa Rae.
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