Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET. Tomorrow’s event will be notably weird: A bevy of pop stars will perform to mark the occasion, which has already been somewhat marred by the threat of violence in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol this month. The pandemic also factors into the equation, meaning the Biden Inaugural Committee is urging fans to stay home and watch the festivities from their couches.
Still, pop culture will converge with political pageantry: Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will put their hands on a Bible and pledge their oaths to the Constitution; Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and Garth Brooks will sing some songs; some former presidents and first ladies will be in attendance; and there will be speeches, likely about healing. All of this will take place with the dual specters of COVID-19 and threats of violent extremism looming over the Capitol.
With all that in mind, here’s what to look out for tonight and tomorrow, and how you might engineer some of your own fun while watching the festivities at home.
There will be music at the ceremony
Before we get to the formalities of actually swearing a new president into office, let’s talk about Jennifer Lopez. The pop star will be one of three megastars on the schedule, including Lady Gaga and the country singer Garth Brooks, who also played at the Obama inauguration.
Both Gaga and Lopez will play during Biden’s swearing-in ceremony: Gaga will sing the National Anthem, while Lopez is slated to perform after a reading from 2017 Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman. Brooks is also scheduled to play in D.C. during the ceremony. Performances on the steps of the Capitol usually take place during inaugurations, though it’s not entirely clear where the stage will be set up this year, given all the security and pandemic concerns.
Either way, the event itself is kind of like the Super Bowl, only with Supreme Court justices and former heads of state in attendance.
What the actual ceremony will be like
I suppose we should discuss the most important part of the day, which surprisingly has very little to do with Lady Gaga. Biden and Harris will be sworn in to office around noon on Wednesday, with Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts doing the honors for Biden, while Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will swear in Harris. The day’s theme is “America United.”
NBC News explains the order of events:
The proceedings will begin with an invocation by
the Rev. Leo J. O’Donovan
, a Jesuit priest who is the former president of Georgetown University and a close friend of the Biden family.
Andrea Hall
, the first African American female firefighter to become captain of the Fire Rescue Department in South Fulton, Georgia, will recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
Biden is then scheduled to deliver a speech on the theme of the day, in which he should have a lot to address if he’s keen to talk about the unprecedented moment in history we’re living through. The event will be streamed by the Biden inaugural committee and broadcast by all major networks.
More star-studded festivities
Due to COVID, Biden will be foregoing the traditional inaugural balls and luncheons, but there will be a glut virtual events to keep America attuned to the president-elect’s every move. Harris will host an event called “We Are One” tonight, celebrating the resiliency and heroism of Black Americans. Other speakers during this event will include Stacey Abrams, Senator Cory Booker, and incoming Senator Raphael Warnock, per the Associated Press.
Tonight at 5:30 p.m. ET, Biden and Harris will honor the nearly 400,000 Americans who have died in the pandemic, with 400 lights surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The inaugural committee has details on how to watch both events and many others.
On a much less solemn note, Wednesday evening will be capped off by an online bacchanal hosted by Tom Hanks. The Celebrating America Primetime Special will be like the Oscars or Grammys, only with more talk of unity and healing. According to the inaugural committee, the entertainment will include “Ant Clemons, Jon Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, John Legend, Eva Longoria, Demi Lovato, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake, and Kerry Washington.”
The event will be broadcast on ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and PBS, and the Biden/Harris team provides more details on how to watch the show if you don’t have cable.
How to spice up your inauguration day
The last four years have been tough, and if you’re happy about this transition of power you might want to take this opportunity to blow off some major steam. If you’re really looking to celebrate, why not make your favorite breakfast on the morning of the inaugural ceremony (if you have the time, of course) and watch with the whole family? FaceTime with family and friends? Make Joe and Kamala cupcakes?
As the day progresses, you might even want to turn that daytime elation into an actual nighttime party. When you’re watching the Celebrating America special, try taking a drink every time you hear the word “heal,” “nation,” “unity,” and or “love.” Or, if you fear you’ll wind up on the floor with those rules, devise your own. Needless to say, if you’re excited about the prospect of presidential change, it’s your chance to celebrate it before the work begins.