Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States today in a ceremony scaled back due to the ongoing Covid pandemic.

The ceremony will also signal the end of Donald Trump’s turbulent single term which has ended with the outgoing president being impeached for a second time.

Security has been ramped up following the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, with 25,000 national guard members deployed in DC amid threats of violence from Trump supporters.

Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20 (Getty Images)

Former presidents, musicians and religious figures will all be in attendance, though Donald Trump will be absent.

Here’s what to expect on the day of the inauguration.

When is the inauguration?

Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th US president on January 20.

The ceremony itself will get underway at 11am ET (4pm GMT).

A virtual ball hosted by Tom Hanks, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato and Justin Timberlake will take place following the ceremony at 8.30pm ET (1.30am GMT).

Where will the ceremony take place?

In line with the tradition the president and vice president will be sworn in in front of the Capitol Building, the site of a deadly riot on January 6.

Grandstands for members of the public were taken down following the riot.

The traditional inaugural parade along Pennsylvania Avenue will be replaced with a virtual “Parade Across America”.

How can I watch the ceremony?

A BBC News Special will provide coverage of the ceremony from 4pm. You can watch this on BBC One or the BBC News channel.

Adam Boulton will present Sky News’ coverage of the event, starting from 4pm.

STV and ITV will also be delivering updates from the American capital, in two-hour special President Biden: The Inauguration, with coverage getting under way at 4pm.

Will Donald Trump be there?

President Trump announced he won't be attending president-elect Biden's inauguration and, if he follows through, will become the first president in more than a century to steer clear of his successor's scheduled initiation.

The last president to boycott his successor's inauguration was Andrew Johnson in 1869.

Richard Nixon had already resigned and left the White House before his successor Gerald Ford's inauguration in 1974.

The outgoing president is instead hosting a farewell at a Maryland military airfield hours before the scheduled inauguration.

What time is Joe Biden inauguration 2021? Schedule and how to watch in UK as new president enters White House