Watch and discuss the Presidential Inauguration on TheCulturepin.com

Watch the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama live from Washington DC right here on the TheCulturepin.com

Now that the stream is closed, we want to share some videos from the streets on inauguration day.

Inauguration at Times Square

Inauguration from the National Mall

Up to four million people are expected to attend the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama in Washington DC on January 20th, with 25,000 law enforcement officials on the scene. Cellular networks have been pleading with their customers to minimize the use of cell phones during the event, claiming they have already stretched their resources to their breaking limits in anticipation of the bandwidth surge.  The event is projected to easily outpace the numbers of the Superbowl in terms of viewership.




Here is the schedule for the event:

Runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET. Program is as follows:

  • Call to order and welcoming remarks — Dianne Feinstein.
  • Invocation — Dr. Rick Warren.
  • Musical selection — Aretha Franklin.
  • Oath of office administered to vice-president-elect Joe Biden.
  • Musical selection — John Williams, featuring Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero, Anthony McGill.
  • Oath of office administered to president-elect Barack Obama by Chief Justice John Roberts.
  • Inaugural address.
  • Poem — Elizabeth Alexander.
  • Benediction — Rev. Joseph E. Lowery.
  • National anthem.

Post your comments to join in the discussion. What do you think about the event?

50 responses to “Watch and discuss the Presidential Inauguration on TheCulturepin.com”

  1. First post 😉

    If you are in DC, I would love to hear from you. Please tell us what the scene is on the street.

  2. It’s really cold outside so I won’t be heading down to DC, however where I live it’s insanely impossible to get down to DC with the amount of people attending around the VA/DC/MD area. My husband just got home from work and he said the metro stations are lined up. Traffic is nuts. I figured it would be hard to get to the metro and park in order to see the event. I would have to be in DC. They also have the bridges to DC blocked so you can drive in therefore alot of walking. I hope everyone that attends keeps warm.

  3. Yeah I wondered about that. Didn’t Barack himself urge people to stay home and check out the proceedings on the tele? I think they are all sweating the surge that coming in on the city.

    I mean, imagine the lines for a hot dog. What are they going to do about parking?

  4. Well, I’m here, for a bit, anyway. :p

    I will say, if I were in DC, I don’t think the cold and the crowds would stop me from being there. It’s something that comes along only once in a lifetime, being physically present when history is being made.

    I would come prepared, though…I wouldn’t be standing in any hotdog lines! Or equiv, seeing as I’m veg, anyway. :p

  5. I’m not sure about that but I do know they have been broadcasting for awhile now about plans on how to get down how workers will get into DC. I use to work in DC. DC streets are small, it’s amazing that they can even hold that many people in the DC area. Driving alone without all the traffic is hard. Parking well people can’t park near DC they are encouraging people to take the metro since parking isn’t an option. The closet metro station to us is 15 minutes away. I would have had to camp out just to get parking I’m sure. Metro is going to be insane. They also have certain stops where you can get off to go to the event therefore you still must walk up to the event. So it’s alot of walking in this case.

  6. Yay for both Tintee and murali being here. Murali I agree, it is a once in a lifetime. I am saving my monogrammed invite to the White House for the inauguration. I may even frame it. I daresay it is unprecedented. hard to wrap my head around. I just hope that when the dust settles we see the emergence of a better world.

    As I hit enter – we are eleven minutes away from the beginning of the broadcast.

  7. Jeremy is watching the news right now. OMG no it’s freezing here, my little on is home from school I wouldnt want him to be out in the cold, it’s 20 degrees at the capital building right now. Seriously if you dont live in DC it’s hard to get in, jeremy said there were line ups at the metro station at 3am they opened parking then but there were line ups

  8. Walking never hurt anyone. Least of all me. I just couldn’t imagine skipping out on this out of fear of a little exercise and cold. (Tinteee, not picking on you, just stating how *I* would feel!)

    KMS..you got an invitation?? For reals?? Frame it, dude. That is a real, live piece of history in your hand.

  9. Here we go. Wow, throngs of people. Where is everyone going? They just seem to be milling about. They are closing the national mall – 30 minutes after sunrise.

  10. yes it’s insane how many people are there. My son is watching baby looney tunes ROFL. He’s active right now wanting us to keep him busy.

  11. 7000 Port-O-Lets for 4 million people. Wearing winter clothing. Hrm. I see a potential problem here.

  12. Hah I likely won’t either, at least I might have to get some rest for a couple hours. Been up all night and now into the morning. I will definitely be back for the big moment.

  13. Greatest democracy in the history of the world? Seriously? Shouldn’t reporters have better filters on their mouths?

  14. Can you imagine the energy of that place. The life force of that many people in one spot has got to be INCREDIBLE.

  15. Its mind-boggling. Choirs assembled from 40 cities. When I was about 12 years old, I sang for the Pope John Paul II’s visit to Canada. It was a 10,000 person choir and like nothing In have ever experienced. This event multiplies that.

  16. I have a friend who used to sing in a choir that played the Superbowl, and tour Europe, etc, at that age, too. I used to think that was big. Not anymore.

  17. No fireworks?? I can see this is the beginning of the end, as security measures tighten more and more each time. The precedent has been set.

  18. Blast! I had the hulu feed working, and it appears to have borked on me. I was kind of looking forward to the Fox News team coverage as I was hoping for speculation that Obama would not be president because this was all just a bad dream.

  19. You actually had the feed working in Canada? I thought Hulu was geo-blocked there. Somehow, as we’ve discovered, it isn’t bloacked in Australia.

  20. I think Hulu is ok, it depends on what’s being broadcast. I know that my Naruto subs are blocked 😀

  21. Beyond the obvious – what is blowing my mind are the camera angles they are getting of this event. Swooping crane shots over throngs of people, wide angle shots of the President-elects car storming down the causeway… kinda crazy. just the logistics of it, and the fact that they are punctual to the minute.

  22. I can feel the energy all the way up in Toronto. There were thousands of Canadians on charter busses heading down for the event. This isn’t just a big day for America, it’s global. I can’t even imagine the rush that the people there must be feeling.

  23. I think in that case its a licensing thing. The show itself, not the feed. As of right now, I got a big white screen of death. Bandwidth I’d wager.

  24. That has got to bite, when for awhile you thought this would be your day( the Clintons)

  25. Was just thinking that. For a couple that has accomplished so much it seemed a very bittersweet moment. On the other hand, watching Obama’s daughters entering their new home at the White House was rather effervescent….

  26. True, but she still has a job at the White House. And really, she’s lived there already.

  27. I predict that shade of yellow is about to become one of the defining colors of the season of 2009.

  28. All those people packed in around Michelle Obama…has got to be a security nightmare. It’s giving ME the heebie jeebies just looking at it, and I’m not responsible for any of it!

  29. This is a great day! Congratulations America!
    I can also watch it, all the way from Sweden. Go figure.

  30. Ok – the whole “wrong side of history” thing is starting to pick up steam. I also like “this is the price of citizenship”

  31. Barrack Hussein Obama…When I first heard his name, I said no way can someone with that name become out president in this current time. I’m glad to say, I was wrong.

  32. There were zero arrests in Washington DC in connection with the Inauguration. Quite something. Also glad to hear that Senator Kennedy is alright.

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