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The following performers may be available for entertainment during the week of the 2013 Presidential Inauguration.
If you are a performer and want to be added to this list, please visit the Contact page.
The President and Vice President will be sworn in on January 20, 2009. Parking will be severely limited on Inauguration Day, but visitors may take public transportation (the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has set up a special Inauguration page with information on transportation during Inauguration Day).
Tickets are needed to enter specific viewing areas, the closer ones, but the viewing area for the swearing-in ceremony is quite large, and will stretch from the Capitol along the National Mall. Not all sections of the viewing area require tickets; the more distant parts of the viewing area will probably be served by large video screens.
Arrive early for required security screening and anticipate large crowds. Gates to the Inaugural Ceremony open at 9 a.m. and the musical prelude begins at 10 a.m. Be prepared to pass through several security screenings before reaching the section indicated on your ticket. There will be no check room for prohibited items.
All ticket holders are required to pass through security screening, including handbag inspection. Prohibited items include, but are not limited to:
The Swearing-In Ceremony will be held outdoors on the west front steps of the Capitol, and will begin at 11:30 a.m. on January 20. The vast majority of tickets are for standing room. All attending are expected to be in their places well ahead of 11:30 a.m. Once underway, the ceremony will last about an hour.
Be advised that January is historically cold and wet. Prepare for temperatures below freezing. Crowds will be large and you will likely be outside for several hours. Also, public tours of the Capitol Building are suspended from 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 16 through Wednesday, January 21, 2009.
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has announced the following Inaugural line-up the 2009 Inaugural Ceremonies:
Musical Selections
The United States Marine Band
Musical Selections
The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Invocation
Dr. Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA
Musical Selection
Aretha Franklin
Oath of Office Administered to Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
By Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
The Honorable John Paul Stevens
Musical Selection, John Williams, composer/arranger
Itzhak Perlman, Violin
Yo-Yo Ma, Cello
Gabriela Montero, Piano
Anthony McGill, Clarinet
Oath of Office Administered to President-elect Barack H. Obama
By the Chief Justice of the United States
The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr.
Inaugural Address
The President of the United States, The Honorable Barack H. Obama
Poem
Elizabeth Alexander
Benediction
The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
The National Anthem
The United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”
The Inauguration Parade, generally held on the afternoon of the swearing-in ceremony, will proceed the 15 blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue between the U.S. Capitol and the White House. In 2005, it started at 2 p.m. It typically takes about two hours. In the past, there have been ticketed and non-ticketed viewing areas of the parade (a limited number of tickets are typically made available for bleacher seating through the (PIC)). Some ticketed Inaugural Parade seats may also be available through third parties, such as GreatSeats or eBay (see below for listings).
Requests to participate in the Inauguration Parade are submitted to the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which will select the participants. The deadline for submitting applications to participate in the Inaugural Parade was 5 p.m. (EST) on November 18, 2008, but if you submitted an application in time you may contact the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee to inquire about it. In 2005, 57 applicant groups were chosen from the more than 300 who applied. If chosen, you are responsible for your own logistics (funding, transportation, lodging, etc.).
You may view alist of the first group of participants selected for the 2009 Inaugural Parade here.
View Map of the 2005 Inaugural Parade Route
The Presidential Inaugural Committee has recently established sign-up forms for workers, volunteers and vendors for the 2009 Inauguration:
Other participation opportunites for the Inauguration:
Search for lodging in the Washington, D.C. area through the following web sites:
Browse the sites below to learn about the history behind inaugural balls, addresses, and other inauguration events.
Other links of interest
Daytime activities for Inauguration Week 2009:
Travel tours to Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration:
If you are in need of a waterproof, tear-proof map while in town for the Inauguration, you may want to consider the Rand McNally fabMAP: Washington, D.C. Mall ($5.95).
The following sites offer general siteseeing tours in the Washington, D.C. area: