Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States to be sworn in on Washington’s Capitol Hill today, along with Joe Biden as Vice-President.
The inauguration kicked off with a star studded concert called ‘We Are One’ at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18th. 400,000 people, including Jack Black, Martin Luther King III, Forest Whitaker and our very own Rosario Dawson were there to see performances from the likes of Beyonce, James Taylor and Garth Brooks.
Highlights from the event were Bruce Springsteen’s aka ‘the boss’ rendition of The Rising- a song best known as a call to action following the 2001 terror attacks, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground’ with Shakira and Usher-which got the Obama family up and dancing- and Mary J Blige who sang a remarkable version of Bill Wither’s ‘Lean On Me’.
The official theme for the 2009 inauguration is “New Birth of Freedom”, a vision that under underscores the President-elect and Vice President-elect’s commitment to restoring opportunity and possibility for all. It also commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
With parties happening all over London tonight, we are going to hit the streets to discover people’s reactions and opinions to Barack presidency- so keep tuned!