Obama's inauguration: The ceremony and parade

Beginning with the inauguration of President George Washington in 1789, Inauguration Day has presented an opportunity for the nation to begin anew. The 2009 inauguration has two themes that focus on the past and the future: "A New Birth of Freedom" for the ceremony itself and "Renewing America's Promise" for the five days of festivities around the official Inauguration Day.

"A New Birth of Freedom," chosen by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, celebrates the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth and the election of America's first black president. "Renewing America's Promise," the same theme used for the Democratic National Convention in Denver and for the party's national platform, articulates the new administration's desire to restore opportunity for all Americans and to rebuild the country's image around the world.

THE CEREMONY

The 56th presidential inauguration will take place on the west front of the U.S. Capitol at about noon. The following is the order of the program:

Musical selections: The United States Marine Band, the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

Call to order and welcoming remarks: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.

Invocation: The Rev. Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., an evangelical congregation averaging 22,000 weekly attendees.

Musical selection: Aretha Franklin, winner of 21 Grammy awards.

Oath of office: Administered to Vice President-elect Joe Biden by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Musical selection: John Williams, composer/arranger; violinist Itzhak Perlman; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; pianist Gabriela Montero; and clarinetist Anthony McGill.

Oath of office: Administered to President-elect Barack Obama by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

Inaugural address: President Barack Obama.

Poem: Elizabeth Alexander, a Yale University professor and finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize who received the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. fellowship for work that "contributes to improving race relations in American society."

Benediction: The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, co-founder along with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The national anthem: The U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters chorus.