What Time Is Trump’s Inauguration?

It’s Blue Monday – but seasonal depression is the last thing on stateside minds. Monday 20 January 2025 is Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration day, returning the reality TV star to the oval office as the 47th president of the United States. Whether you love him, hate him or want nothing to do with him at all, you might be tempted to watch Trump’s inauguration – the first held indoors since Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in 1985 due to polar temperatures (and, we assume, to make any further assassination attempts even trickier). Here’s what you need to know about watching from the UK.

How To Watch Trump’s Inauguration From The UK

Both BBC One and ITV1 are airing special coverage of Trump’s inauguration this afternoon. The BBC’s coverage, titled President Trump’s Inauguration and hosted by Clive Myrie and Sophie Raworth, will run from 3.30–6pm, while ITV’s coverage, President Trump: The Inauguration, will air from 4–6pm. Both will also be available to stream live on BBC iPlayer and ITVX respectively.

Sky News will also cover the afternoon’s events.

What Time Is Trump’s Inauguration UK

The actual inauguration ceremony is scheduled for 5pm GMT (midday local time). Before this, Trump will parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from 3pm, before parading in the opposite direction after the ceremony at 7pm.

Before Trump, vice president elect JD Vance will take his oaths of office at around 4.30pm GMT (11.30am local).

Who Will Be There?

After the inauguration is all wrapped up, it’s party time – and Trump will host a powerful guest list. The world’s richest man and Trump’s close pal Elon Musk will naturally be in attendance, joined by fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Meanwhile, plenty of former presidents are expected to attend, including Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and outgoing president Joe Biden.

Bucking tradition, Trump has also extended the invitation to leaders from across the globe, including Argentinian President Javier Milei, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and China’s President Xi Jinping, though the latter is reportedly unlikely to show his face, sending his vice president Han Zheng to represent him instead, which is more in keeping with tradition.

On the UK front, Keir Starmer will not attend and was not invited, sparking rumours that UK-US relations won’t be as positive as the UK prime minister hopes – though PA Fact Check reassures us no UK prime minister has ever attended a US presidential inauguration. Instead, the British Ambassador to the US, Karen Pierce, will attend.

On the flip side, staunch Trump ally and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will be in attendance, presumably trying to bridge the rift between himself and Musk following a social media spat at the beginning of the month. Joining Farage will be a whole host of far-right politicians from across Europe according to Politico, including France’s Éric Zemmour and his MEP wife Sarah Knafo, Germany’s far right Alternative for Germany co-leader Tino Chrupalla, Spain’s Santiago Abscal of ultranationalist Vox party and the European Patriots Party, and Portugal’s André Ventura, leader of the right-wing populist Chega party. They will be joined by more traditional invitees, including official envoys and ambassadors to the US.

Who Will Perform?

In 2017, Trump famously struggled to secure any big-name musicians to perform at his inauguration, with Elton John, Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli and more publicly declining an invite. In 2017, America’s Got Talent alum Jacki Evancho sang the national anthem, with country singer Toby Keith the biggest name performing later. In 2025, difficulties have once again been faced, but more singers have emerged from the woodwork to support their new president.

In 2025, Carrie Underwood will sing ‘America The Beautiful’ just before Trump takes the oath of office, while Christopher Macchio will sing ‘Oh, America!’ before Vance takes his. Later performances include Rascal Flatts, Parker McCollum, Gavin DeGraw, Nelly and The Village People, whose ‘YMCA’ has become a staple of Trump rallies.

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Is It Martin Luther King Day?

Yes, this year, the presidential inauguration coincides with an important federal holiday in the US: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, aka MLK Day. Commemorating the birthday of the prominent civil rights activist, schools, universities and government institutions are usually closed on this day. You can learn all about MLK Day here.