Inauguration Day - January 20, 2009 - is just one part of a week-long program to celebrate the start of Barack Obama's term as the 44th president of the United States. Here a breakdown of the happenings:
Saturday, January 17, 2009
President-elect Barack Obama, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and their families will travel by train from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. with stops along the way for events in Wilmington, Delaware and Baltimore.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
An official welcome event - free and open to the public - will be held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to kick off the inaugural celebrations.
Monday, January 19, 2009
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Obama, Biden and their families will take part in activities dedicated to community service in the D.C. area.
Inaugural Eve Concert for America's Children -
A youth concert will take place at the Verizon Center. Tickets are required but free of charge. The concert will be televised on ABC and The Disney Channel.
Tuesday, January 20
Inauguration Day - Swearing-in ceremony, Inaugural Parade, and official Inaugural Balls. Tuesday's events are expected to draw a record-setting crowd of between 1.5 and 4 million people, according to the Washington Post on December 24 2008.
Musical selections will be played by The United States Marine Band, The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus. After a call to order and welcoming remarks by Senator Dianne Feinstein, Dr. Rick Warren will say the invocation before Aretha Franklin performs.
Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will be sworn into office and then there will be a musical performance with composer/arranger John Williams and Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma), Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill.
President-elect Barack H. Obama will take the Oath of Office, using President Lincoln’s Inaugural Bible and then will give his Inaugural Address - setting out his vision for America and goals for the nation.
Post-Inaugural Address Program
After President-elect Obama's Inaugural Address, Elizabeth Alexander will read a poem, Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery will hold a benediction and the U.S. Navy Band "Sea Chanters" will play the National Anthem.
President Obama will then escort outgoing President George W. Bush to a departure ceremony before attending a luncheon in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. The 56th Inaugural Parade will then make its way down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.
And later that day, the Presidential Inaugural Committee will host ten official Inaugural Balls.
Wednesday, January 21
The newly-inaugurated President and Vice President of the United States will participate in a prayer service.
