Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga will take the stage in the U.S. The inaugural ceremony in Washington next week by President-elect Joe Biden alongside others in what his transition team said would showcase a diverse America.
The two will perform for the new 46th U.S. president at the Jan. 20 gathering, which will also include comments from a Georgian black firefighter, a former Youth Poet Laureate, a Catholic priest, and a pastor from Wilmington, Delaware, Biden’s hometown.
The national anthem will be sung by Lady Gaga and a musical performance will be given by Lopez.
“They represent one clear picture of the grand diversity of our great nation,” his team said in a statement on Thursday.
The presenters reflect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s “steadfast vision of a new chapter in our American story in which we are an America united in overcoming the deep divisions and challenges facing our people, unifying the country, and restoring the soul of our nation,” it added.
Their positions come as the Democrat takes over the White House from Republican Donald Trump in a scaled-down event after a mob of Trump supporters threatened the United States in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising of security concerns. Capitol to thwart the certification of Biden’s victory by lawmakers.
On the West Front of the Capitol building, now fortified by fencing, barriers, and thousands of National Guard soldiers, the public would not be on hand to witness the swearing-in.
Biden’s transition team cited Lady Gaga’s advocacy of LGBTQ rights and health concerns in announcing the inauguration speakers, and Lopez’s work raising awareness about the adverse effects on Latinos of coronavirus.
Many representatives include Fulton County, Georgia, career firefighter Andrea Hall and 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, a resident of Los Angeles. Father Leo O’Donovan, former President of Georgetown University, and Reverend Dr. Silvester Beaman of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, both close to the Biden family, will talk as well.
Source: Reuters
