WASHINGTON DC, USA

US President Joe Biden speaks at the Lincoln Memorial during the ‘Celebrating America’ event after his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States.

Promising to be a president “for all Americans”, Biden used his Inaugural Address to acknowledge the deep divisions in US society and the devastating loss experienced by Americans amid the pandemic.

“Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged or found a time more challenging or difficult than the time we’re in now,” he said. “But we can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts.”

In the past, thousands of people have flocked to the capital to celebrate Inauguration Day. This year, with the country still in the grip of the pandemic, and January’s storming of the Capitol building by violent insurrectionists having necessitated far stricter security than usual, flags stood in for the absent crowd on the National Mall, and most Americans watched the proceedings on their TV screens. Actor Tom Hanks hosted the special TV event, introducing a slate of famous guests, including Bruce Springsteen, Lin-Manuel Miranda and past presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Standing next to the iconic statue of one of his most famous predecessors, Abraham Lincoln, President Biden reiterated his message of unity. “This is a great nation,” he said. “Overcoming the challenges in front of us requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity.”