Celebrating America is a television special which aired as part of the post-inaugural events following theinauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021. Hosted by actorTom Hanks and produced byRicky Kirshner,Glenn Weiss, andStephanie Cutter, the special featured musical performances and speeches from various Americans, including those fromPresidentJoe Biden andVice PresidentKamala Harris.

The show was nominated in twoPrimetime Emmy Awards forOutstanding Variety Special (Live) andOutstanding Music Direction.^[1]

Traditionalinaugural balls, which often gather hundreds of dignitaries to see the president and extend late into the evening, were not held due to restrictions related to theCOVID-19 pandemic. A primetime television special,Celebrating America, aired as a substitute in simulcast across most major television networks and other cable and streaming outlets. Hosted byTom Hanks, the evening event opened with a performance of "Land of Hope and Dreams" byBruce Springsteen on the steps of theLincoln Memorial.^[2] Hanks then addressed viewers, emphasizing the "promise of our promised land", and introduced four guests,Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,Dolores Huerta,Brayden Harrington, andKim Ng who, respectively, recited lines from theinaugural addresses of presidentsAbraham Lincoln,Franklin D. Roosevelt,John F. Kennedy, andRonald Reagan, reflecting on their speeches' emphasis of national unity, confidence, patriotism, and peace.^[3]

Anthony Gaskin, aVirginiaUPSdeliveryman, introducedJon Bon Jovi, who performed an acoustic rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" byThe Beatles.^[3]Yo-Yo Ma performed a cello solo sampling "Amazing Grace", "Goin' Home" fromDvořák's 9th symphony, and "Simple Gifts". Biden was then introduced by Hanks to the U.S. Navy Band Brass Ensemble's playing of four ruffles and flourishes and "Hail to the Chief"; he spoke inside the Lincoln Memorial and emphasized the importance of "opportunity, liberty, dignity, and respect".Ant Clemons andJustin Timberlake then performed their song "Better Days" inMemphis, Tennessee.^[4] Mackenzie Adams, aWashington elementary school teacher, then introducedFoo Fighters; frontmanDave Grohl opened the performance by acknowledging the "creative ways" educators have dealt with teachingmodality challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic,^[3] and then the band performed "Times Like These".^[5] A cavalcade of Broadway stars performed "Seasons of Love" and "Let the Sunshine In".

Chef and philanthropistJosé Andrés discussed thefood insecurity crisis in America, and introduced Morgan Marsh-McGlone, aWisconsin elementary school student who raised over US$52,000 for the hungry by creating an onlinelemonade stand.^[3]Lin-Manuel Miranda then recited Irish poetSeamus Heaney's "The Cure at Troy",^[6] with Biden joining him to in unison recital of the final line, "And hope and history rhyme". It is a poem often quoted by Biden, such as in his address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. American members of theExpedition 64 mission on theInternational Space Station then greeted viewers from orbit.Sarah Fuller, the first woman to play in a football game for aPower Five conference team, introduced Vice President Harris to four ruffles and flourishes and "Hail, Columbia"; she characterized the American people as "bold, fearless, and ambitious", exemplifying theApollo 11 Moon landing andcivil rights and women's suffragette movements.^[7]John Legend then performed his rendition of "Feeling Good".^[5]

Sandra Lindsay, a nurse who is the first U.S. citizen to receive aCOVID-19 vaccine,^[8] introducedTyler Hubbard andTim McGraw, who performed their collaborative song "Undivided" on aNashville rooftop.^[9] Former presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, appearing in theArlington Memorial Amphitheater, remarked on the importance of uniting America and witnessing the peaceful transfer of power;^[3] they also offered words of support for Biden and Harris.Demi Lovato then celebrated frontline healthcare workers in their performance ofBill Withers's song "Lovely Day".^[5] In closing the special,Katy Perry performed her song "Firework" during afireworks show over the Washington Monument, with views of Biden, Harris, and their spouses watching from the White House and Lincoln Memorial.^[2]

Speaker		Description	Location	Notes
	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	Former professional basketball player		Recited a portion ofAbraham Lincoln's inaugural address
	Dolores Huerta	Labor leader and civil rights activist		Recited a portion ofFranklin D. Roosevelt's inaugural address
	Brayden Harrington	13-year-old student who spoke about his experience with Joe Biden at the2020 Democratic National Convention		Recited a portion ofJohn F. Kennedy's inaugural address
	Kim Ng	General manager of theMiami Marlins		Recited a portion ofRonald Reagan's inaugural address
	Eva Longoria	Actress	Los Angeles,California
	Anthony Gaskin	UPS deliveryman	Midlothian, Virginia	Introduced Jon Bon Jovi
	SGT Brennan Lombardo	United States Marine Corps aviation operations specialist	Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni,Japan
	Joe Biden	President of the United States	Lincoln Memorial inWashington, D.C.
	Cavanaugh Bell	8-year-old boy who started his own food pantry	Gaithersburg, Maryland	Introduced Ant Clemons and Justin Timberlake
	Mackenzie Adams	Elementary school teacher	Seattle,Washington	Introduced Foo Fighters
	Kerry Washington	Actress	Los Angeles,California
	José Andrés	Chef and philanthropist	Washington, D.C.	Introduced Morgan Marsh-McGlone
	Morgan Marsh-McGlone	Elementary school student who raised money for the hungry by creating an online lemonade stand.	Belleville, Wisconsin
	Lin-Manuel Miranda	Actor	United Palace inNew York City,New York	RecitedSeamus Heaney's "The Cure at Troy"
	Kathleen Rubins Shannon Walker Victor J. Glover Michael S. Hopkins	American crew members ofExpedition 64	International Space Station
	Sarah Fuller	College football placekicker for theVanderbilt Commodores	Vanderbilt Stadium inNashville, Tennessee	Introduced Kamala Harris
	Kamala Harris	Vice President of the United States	National Mall inWashington, D.C.
	Sandra Lindsay	Nurse who became the first American to receive aCOVID-19 vaccine	New York City,New York	Introduced Tyler Hubbard and Tim McGraw
	Bill Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama	Formerpresidents of the United States	Arlington Memorial Amphitheater inArlington County, Virginia

Celebrating America was produced byRicky Kirshner,Glenn Weiss, andStephanie Cutter the same team that produced the2020 Democratic National Convention.^[11] It was broadcast on all major television networks, includingABC,CBS,NBC andPBS, as well as cable networks such asBET,CNN andMSNBC. It was also livestreamed online through the Presidential Inaugural Committee'sYouTube,Facebook,Twitter andTwitch accounts. Streaming partners for the event includeAmazon Prime Video,Microsoft Bing,NewsNow from Fox,DirecTV andAT&T U-verse.^[12]

The fireworks display for the program's finales was created byStrictly FX.^[13]

The event was acclaimed by critics, withCaroline Framke ofVariety writing thatCelebrating America "perfectly encapsulates President Joe Biden".^[14] Lily Janiak of theSan Francisco Chronicle described the special as "meh TV but fantastic civics" and that it could "help us make ordinariness and kindness normal again."^[15] Dominic Patten and Ted Johnson ofDeadline Hollywood wrote thatCelebrating America proved a "solemn & successful affair" and that it was "a PSA for the USA, and maybe the calming medicine of a message that we and the world needed to hear."^[16] Writing forThe Independent,Mark Beaumont said that the special made Biden's inauguration "a safe, soothing tribute toanti-fascism."^[17]

While he described the special's content as "more the entertainment-politics equivalent of a chain restaurant with a big menu" where "it wasn’t going to be anyone’s favorite, but everyone could find something on the menu for them", chief television critic ofThe New York TimesJames Poniewozik wrote that it "promised that daylight is coming" and that "the long, cold, lonely winter would end, and the sun would come."^[18]

More than 21 million people watched the television special,^[19] withCNN's broadcast being watched by over 6 million people, as part of its overall coverage of the inauguration ceremony.NBC's broadcast of the special was the most watched among the broadcast networks, followed byABC andCBS. The three networks' telecast of the event competed withFox'sThe Masked Dancer andName That Tune andThe CW'sRiverdale andNancy Drew.^[20]

  Broadcast network

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• Celebrating America atIMDb

• 2021 in Washington, D.C.
• 2021 in American television
• 2021 television specials
• Inauguration of Joe Biden
• January 2021 in the United States
• Presidency of Joe Biden
• Simulcasts

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