President elect Joe Biden
Photographer: Demetrius Freeman / The Washington Post / Getty Images
Photographer: Demetrius Freeman / The Washington Post / Getty Images
President-elect Joe Biden will receive a shortened military escort to the White House in lieu of the traditional inaugural parade stretching from the Capitol after being sworn in on Jan. 20, his inaugural committee said Sunday.
The inaugural festivities will also include a formal troop survey and a televised “Virtual Parade Across America” featuring musical acts, fanfare, poetry, dance troupes and essential workers.
The scaled-down inaugural plans represent a new concession to the coronavirus pandemic as Biden’s inaugural planners balance health and safety concerns with the pomp of the constitutional ceremony.
“There are many great traditions at the inauguration, and we intend to honor them by highlighting more of the people of our country than ever before while keeping everyone safe,” said Tony Allen, CEO of the Presidential Inaugural Committee. in a statement.
The inaugural planners have urged Biden supporters not to travel to Washington for the ceremony. Swearing-in tickets are available only to members of Congress and their guests, and workers take down the temporary stands for dignitaries to watch the traditional parade that stretches Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.
Instead, the new commander in chief will hold a socially distant “pass in review” of troops from every branch of the military on the Capitol’s eastern front. Ceremonial units then escort Biden from 15th Street NW to the White House, which crosses 16th Street.
The virtual parade will be produced by the same team that put together the all-virtual Democratic National Convention in August, which used short videos from around the country in place of the traditional Roll Call of the States to nominate Biden as the Democratic candidate for the presidency. .
The announcement of the celebration that was to come in three weeks was released as Republicans prepare for a quixotic but controversial attempt to challenge the election results when Congress meets on Wednesday to certify Biden as the winner of the election.