Although President Obama officially took the oath of office and started his second term on Sunday, the public festivities will be in full swing on Monday. (The Times’s live coverage will begin around 8 a.m., and streaming video of the ceremony will be available at nytimes.com.)
Officials are expecting more than 600,000 people to gather on the National Mall for the ceremony at the Capitol.
Though the ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., prominent guests, including lawmakers, cabinet members and former presidents will begin arriving at 9 a.m. â€" fashionably late when compared to the 7 a.m. opening of security checkpoints on the mall.
Myrlie Evers-Williams, former chairwoman of the N.A.A.C.P., will offer the invocation after the opening remarks by Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer the ceremonial oath of office to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., as she did officially at the Naval Observatory on Sunday.
After a performance of “American the Beautiful†by James Taylor, Mr. Obama will be sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. just before noon.
Mr. Obama will use two Bibles as he recites the oath of office: one that belonged to Abraham Lincoln, which he also used at his first inauguration, a! nd one from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It will be the second inauguration to occur on the holiday commemorating the civil rights leader’s birth.
Mr. Obama will then deliver his second inaugural address.
The inaugural poet, Richard Blanco, the son of Cuban exiles who has spoken of sharing “a spiritual connection†with Mr. Obama, will read a poem after a performance of “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee†by Kelly Clarkson.
The United States Marine Band and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir are among the other groups that will perform.
The swearing-in ceremony will close with a benediction delivered by the Rev. Luis León and a performance of the national anthem by Beyoncé.
Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden are then scheduled to attend a luncheon at the Capiol with about 200 guests, including members of the Supreme Court, Congress and the cabinet. They will dine on steamed lobster, hickory-grilled bison and apple pie.
In his role as commander in chief, Mr. Obama will review the troops at 2:30 p.m. before the parade heads down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House. The president and vice president will watch from a viewing platform.
Mr. Obama will celebrate his inauguration with two official balls at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Monday evening: one for special guests and some members of the public and one for military families, a Commander-in-Chief’s Ball. Alicia Keys, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and the cast of the television program “Glee†are scheduled to perform.
