Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, but his inauguration ceremony looked very different to those of previous leaders.
While huge crowds would typically pack the National Mall for the event, today a ‘Field of Flags’ was planted to represent Americans who could not attend.

Donald Trump famously claimed that attendance in 2017 was the highest ever. But today he became the first president in modern history not to attend his successor’s swearing in.

Kamala Harris also made history as the first black, female vice president to take the oath of office.

At most inaugurations, the crowd is close enough to hear the new president’s speech but this time the whole area around Capitol Hill was locked down by security forces.

Both the pandemic and the recent Capitol siege mean Americans were asked to watch from home. The few invited guests present today wore masks and were all tested for coronavirus and the traditional stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue was cancelled. Instead, Biden received a military escort for the few blocks to the White House.

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