Which celebrities are attending Donald Trump’s inauguration?
Donald Trump will be sworn in as US president on 20 January in Washington DC, to being his second stint in the biggest job in politics.
A national holiday thanks to the fact it coincides with Martin Luther King Jr Day, spectators can expect an event full of pomp, pageantry and entertainment.
Donald Trump and his family on inauguration day in 2017
Back at his first inauguration in 2017, Mr Trump appeared to struggle to rustle up celebrity attendees – so who might we see turn up second time around?
Political figures and world leaders
Outgoing president Joe Biden, 82, will attend his successor’s inauguration. It was a pleasantry not performed by Mr Trump during Mr Biden’s inauguration in 2020, which Mr Trump – who claimed the election had been stolen from him – chose to skip.
It’s also traditional for all living former presidents to attend the inauguration, so Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton are all likely to attend. Former first lady, Michelle Obama, however, will not be attending.
Mr Trump has also invited world leaders this year for the first time.
Mr Trump’s new efficiency tsar and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is attending the event and reportedly will be seated alongside fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has confirmed his attendance, and says he hopes to “mend any broken fences” with Mr Musk after a recent social media spat between the two.
Elon Musk and Nigel Farage have ‘fences to mend’ following a row on X. Pic: PA
Official acts
The Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee kept its cards close to its chest until just a few days before the inauguration.
Musical performances are a staple of the event, with a marching band, and various inauguration galas throughout the evening. Stars including Beyonce, Lady Gaga, and John Legend have been part of past shows for previous presidents.
This year’s acts have a distinctly Country flavour, with big names including Billy Ray Cyrus and Kid Rock – both of whom endorsed Mr Trump at the 2024 election.
Kid Rock speaking ahead of Donald Trump at the National Guard Association Conference in August. Pic: AP
Rock, 53, whose real name is Robert James Richie, has been a vocal supporter of the Republican Party and the president-elect for many years.
He previously sang ahead of Mr Trump’s speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention in July and joined Mr Trump’s entourage at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event in November.
Billy Ray Cyrus. Pic: AP
Rock will join country singer Cyrus, 63, who is the father of pop star Miley Cyrus – a vocal critic of Mr Trump – at the Make America Great Again Rally at Capital One Arena in Washington on Sunday, along with a choir from Liberty University, which is a private evangelical Christian school in Virginia.
Alongside being Miley’s dad, Billy Ray is most famous for his 1990s country hit Achy Breaky Heart.
Jason Aldean speaking at a Republican rally in October. Pic: AP
They will be joined by country singer Jason Aldean, singer and saxophonist Lee Greenwood and The Village People at The Liberty Ball on Monday night, along with a “surprise musical guest”.
Aldean, 47, is a five-time Grammy nominee and the performer of the controversial country song Try That In A Small Town, which he dedicated to Mr Trump after the attempt on his life in July.
Greenwood sang God Bless The USA at the inauguration eight years ago and was a staple at Trump campaign rallies last year. He has said he’s “excited” to sing for his “friend” Mr Trump “yet again”.
Meanwhile, country group Rascal Flatts will be at the Commander-in-Chief Ball, focused on military service members, with Texas-based singer-songwriter Parker McCollum.
Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox wrote on Instagram that he was “happy and humbled and grateful for the opportunity”. LeVox played at Mr Trump’s first inauguration and promised it will be a “night to remember”, thanking South Dakota governor Kristi Noem in his post.
The Starlight Ball, which focuses on high-worth donors, will feature a performance from Gavin DeGraw, a singer-songwriter best known for the song I Don’t Want To Be, which was used as the theme song for the TV show One Tree Hill.
Carrie Underwood performing in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Pic: AP
Previously confirmed acts include American Idol star Carrie Underwood who is arguably the biggest name on the bill.
The eight-time Grammy winner will sing America The Beautiful alongside the Armed Forces Choir and the US Naval Academy Glee Club shortly before Mr Trump takes the oath of office.
Commenting on her part in the day, Underwood said in a statement: “I love our country and am honoured to have been asked to sing at the inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event”. The 41-year-old singer has previously kept her political views private.
Classical singer Christopher Macchio will sing Oh, America! before the vice-presidential oath of office with JD Vance, and will close the ceremony with a rendition of the American National Anthem.
Victor Willis and the Village People perform during the Festival d’ete de Quebec in July 2019. Pic: AP
Victor Willis, frontman of the Village People, previously announced the band had accepted an invitation to perform at the inauguration, telling their fans in a post on Facebook: “We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear, however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics.
“Our song Y.M.C.A. is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost,” he added.
“Therefore, we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music, which is why Village People will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J Trump.”
Willis last month defended Mr Trump’s use of Y.M.C.A. at campaign rallies and denied that the song is a “gay anthem”.
The 1978 disco hit spiked in listenership in November after it secured a spot on Mr Trump’s campaign playlist, according to Sky News’ US partner, NBC News.
Mary Millben on the first day of the Republican National Convention. Pic: Reuters
Who else could be there?
Actor Jon Voight, who was recently appointed as “a special envoy” to Hollywood following the California wildfires and who is a vocal supporter of Mr Trump, spoke at his last inauguration – so it seems possible we could see a repeat performance.
And singer Mary Millben sang the national anthem at both Mr Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally and the Republican National Convention back in July.
One wildcard potential guest could be Kanye West, who has been a vocal supporter of Mr Trump in the past, and who met with him in the Oval Office back in 2018.
When asked earlier this year if he would be voting Republican, West told reporters: “Yeah, of course. It’s Trump all day.”
Jackie Evancho singing at Mr Trump’s first inauguration in 2017
Who performed at Trump’s last inauguration?
Classical singer Jackie Evancho, a former America’s Got Talent contestant, sang the national anthem at Mr Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, calling it a “huge honour” to perform for the president.
But the young star, who has a transgender sister, did later say she was “disappointed” by Mr Trump’s decision to roll back on transgender rights.
Meanwhile, country singer Toby Keith was arguably the biggest name on the bill the first time around. He died from stomach cancer last February.
Other acts who performed in 2017 include The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, rock band 3 Doors Down, DJ Ravidrums and musical group The Piano Guys.
Prime-time TV show?
In 2021, Joe Biden’s inauguration included a prime-time inauguration day TV programme hosted by Tom Hanks.
Celebrating America featured performances from acts including Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake.
It’s not known if a similar programme will be aired following Mr Trump’s inauguration this year.
The mother of Cassie Ventura has told a court she felt “physically sick” when her daughter told her Sean “Diddy” Combs had threatened to “release two explicit sex tapes” after discovering his long-time girlfriend was dating someone else.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, the seventh day of the trial, Regina Ventura said she did not initially understand the email Cassie sent her in December 2011, saying, “The sex tape threw me, [Diddy] was trying to hurt my daughter.”
The email said Combs was planning to release two explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt her and the man she was seeing, rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.
Regina said the family took out a home equity loan and paid Diddy $20,000 to recoup money he had spent on Cassie “because he demanded it,” angry that Cassie was now dating Cudi.
She said the money was returned days later.
During her evidence, jurors were shown photographs of bruises on Cassie’s body Ms Ventura said were taken when her daughter returned home for Christmas in 2011.
Regina’s time on the stand was fairly brief, as the defence declined the opportunity to question her.
Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, who dated Cassie in 2011. Pic: Reuters
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 7 – As it happened
Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs” from 2004 to 2024, facilitated by his large retinue of staff. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty.
The rapper faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs and Cassie pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters
Last week, the prosecutors’ star witness, Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, spent four days giving evidence.
Combs’s legal team has sought to show jurors that his relationship with Ventura was complicated, and while they acknowledge he was an abusive partner, and had substance issues, they say the sex acts described by the prosecution were consensual.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about the Sean Combs trial
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
‘Diddy wanted our bodies to shine’
A male exotic dancer nicknamed “The Punisher” also gave testimony, telling jurors that in the autumn of 2012, Cassie contacted him asking him to “create a sexy, erotic scene” Diddy, and using the pseudonym “Janet”.
Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, aka The Punisher. Pic: Reuters
Sharay Hayes said he went on to have eight to 12 more encounters with the couple, having sex with Cassie, while Diddy watched from a distance.
He described the hotel rooms as routinely being dressed with electric candles and sheet-covered furniture, and says Cassie told him not to “acknowledge” her husband, and to “try not to look at him and no communication”.
He says Diddy would often wear a cap, and he could not see his face, but he later realised it was the famous rapper.
“The Punisher” mentioned using a “considerable amount of baby oil” during the performances, saying “[Diddy] wanted us to keep our bodies covered, to shine”.
He later described the acts as “a fetish type thing,” and while he said he believed Cassie was fully consensual, he also said he “did occasionally see her sigh or wince” and said she would frequently look at Diddy “for cues”.
Paid between $1,200 (£900) and $2,000 (£1.500) for each performance, he said he was not called back after struggling to get an erection during one encounter.
He said he never saw Diddy use drugs or saw filming during any of the performances.
Car park dispute with Suge Knight
David James, Diddy’s ex-personal assistant, also completed his evidence and testified that he never saw physical violence between Cassie and his former boss.
David James, Combs’s former assistant. Pic: Reuters
James, who worked for Diddy for two years, said he left Diddy’s employment after he realised his “life was in danger” following a dispute in a car park with rival record label owner Suge Knight, which culminated in Diddy bringing three handguns to try to find Knight and his entourage.
He also detailed an altercation between Diddy and his personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson, and said he refused to file a police report after Diddy told him to say “Chef Jourdan hit him first”.
The final person to give evidence was a special agent responsible for planning the March 2024 raids on Combs’s Miami home on Star Island.
Steve Gannon showed photos of items taken during the raid, including sex toys, high heels and loaded guns, and explained how an armoured vehicle was used to break down the mansion’s front gate to gain entry while the family was away on a trip.
Combs has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September and faces at least 15 years or possibly life in prison if convicted.
The trial is set to last for around two months.
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