EXPLAINER

A look at what will happen and who will be there for Trump’s historic return as US president.

For the second time, Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as president of the United States.

Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC will kick off at noon local time (17:00 GMT). While most of the inauguration’s events will occur today, they will officially conclude on Tuesday with a traditional prayer service at Washington National Cathedral.

Here’s a look at the lineup of official events surrounding Trump’s second inauguration as president. It is still unclear how the decision to move Trump’s swearing-in indoors to the Capitol Rotunda on Monday might affect the scheduled lineup for the ceremony.

Church service

Trump will start the day by attending a service at St John’s Episcopal Church, located across Lafayette Park from the White House, a tradition for presidents-elect.

White House tea

Trump and incoming First Lady Melania Trump will meet outgoing President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House for a tea that’s traditionally held to welcome a new president.

Swearing-in ceremony inside the US Capitol Rotunda

• Musical prelude by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Combined Choirs
• Prelude: The President’s Own, by the United States Marine Band
• Call to order by Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat from Minnesota
• Invocation by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, and the Reverend Franklin Graham of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
• Oh, America!, performed by opera singer Christopher Macchio
• The vice presidential oath of office administered by US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh
• America the Beautiful, performed by Carrie Underwood, the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club
• The presidential oath of office administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts
• The Battle Hymn of the Republic, performed by the US Naval Academy Glee Club

Trump’s inaugural address

• Benediction from Yeshiva University’s President Ari Berman, Imam Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, Senior Pastor Lorenzo Sewell of 180 Church Detroit and the Reverend Frank Mann of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn
• The Star-Spangled Banner, performed by Christopher Macchio

Farewell to the former president

• A formal farewell will be held for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as they depart the US Capitol.

The president’s signing ceremony

• Trump will head to the President’s Room just off the Senate Chamber in the US Capitol for a signing ceremony, where members of Congress watch as the newly sworn-in president signs nominations, memorandums and executive orders.

Inaugural luncheon

• The new president and vice president attend a luncheon at the National Statuary Hall in the US Capitol hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Pass in review

• After the luncheon, the president and vice president head to the East Front steps of the US Capitol, where they are to review the military troops.

Presidential parade

• Because of cold weather, Trump is moving the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to Washington’s Capital One Arena. The event is expected to feature marching bands and remarks from Trump.

Oval Office ceremony

• Trump heads to the White House for an Oval Office ceremony.

Inaugural balls

• Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball: Country music band Rascal Flatts and country singer Parker McCollum will perform at the ball geared toward military service members. Trump is scheduled to speak.
• Liberty Inaugural Ball: Rapper Nelly, country singer Jason Aldean and the Village People are scheduled to perform at the ball geared towards Trump’s supporters. Trump is set to give remarks.
• Starlight Ball: Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw will perform and Trump will speak at the third inaugural ball, at which guests are expected to be big donors of the incoming president.

Who will be attending?

Besides a mix of invited foreign leaders, celebrities and tech giants will also be in attendance.

Scheduled to be there are Trump adviser Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc and SpaceX; Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon; and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms.

According to NBC News, several athletes and musicians will also be in attendance.

They include National Football League (NFL) wide receiver Antonio Brown, boxer Mike Tyson, martial arts fighter Jorge Masvidal, and NFL player Evander Kane, NBC said, adding that musicians attending include Anuel AA, Justin Quiles, Rod Wave, Kodak Black and Fivio Foreign.

The last surviving founding member of the Village People, Victor Willis, said on Facebook on Monday that the group will perform YMCA, the band’s hit song and a staple at Trump rallies.

Who will cover the costs?

The official events are financed by Trump’s inauguration committee, which is chaired by longtime Trump allies Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer who is Trump’s pick to be his Middle East envoy, and Kelly Loeffler, a former US senator and Trump’s choice to head the Small Business Administration.

The committee will be responsible for covering the costs of everything but the swearing-in ceremony at the US Capitol, which is borne by taxpayers.

Bezos and Zuckerberg pledged to donate $1m each to the committee, as have Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, have each donated $1m to the fund.

Trump raised a record $106.7m for his 2017 inauguration festivities. His committee has raised more than $170m this time, according to media reports.