- We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
-
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial was a public celebration of the then forthcoming inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States at the Lincoln Memorial and the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2009. By some estimates the attendance was over 400,000.[1] The event was musically directed by Rob Mathes of the Kennedy Center Honors. A backing band used by many of the artists was in the orchestra pit, and featured veteran session drummer Kenny Aronoff.[2]
The concert featured performances by (in alphabetical order) Mary J Blige, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renée Fleming, Caleb Green, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, Beyoncé Knowles, Bettye Lavette, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Jennifer Nettles, Pete Seeger, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, U2, Usher, Will.I.Am and Stevie Wonder.[3] Several of the songs performed had been used by Obama's presidential campaign.[4]
The concert also featured readings of historical passages by Jack Black, Steve Carell, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, Ashley Judd, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah, Laura Linney, George Lopez, Kal Penn, Marisa Tomei, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker and Tiger Woods.[3][5][6]
Lineup
An estimated 400,000 people attended the event.
Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire Gene Robinson gave an open prayer to start the celebration.[7]
Broadcast
Attendance at the concert was free to the public, and HBO also broadcast the concert for free on cable television services on their usually subscription-only network.[5][8] The Associated Press called it a “near-flawless production with multiple camera angles and a majestic backdrop in the giant statue of Abraham Lincoln”.[9] The concert was broadcast around the world. In Finland it was broadcast live and free to air by YLE TV1.[10] In the Netherlands it was broadcast live and free by Nederland 3.[11] It was broadcast in Portugal by RTP 2 on January 24, 2009. In Sweden it was broadcast by TV8. HBO released the concert as part of a 2 DVD set (including the Inaugural Address and Neighborhood Ball) in April 2010.[12] Also, it was shown for the crowd at Obama's inauguration two days later on megascreens in the hours before the ceremony began.
References
- ^ Steve Hendrix and Jonathan Mummolo (January 18, 2009). "Jamming on the Mall for Obama". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/18/AR2009011800917.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2009011802825&s_pos=.
- ^ "Aronoff ready to play star-studded Obama celebration". Herald Times. 2009-01-11. http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2009/01/11/column.qp-0426627.sto.
- ^ a b Gallo, Phil (2009-01-18). "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration". Variety. RBI. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939371.html?categoryid=1264&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- ^ Lamb, Nicola (2009-01-20). "Masses pour into Washington to witness history in the making". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10552601.
- ^ a b c "We Are One". Home Box Office. http://www.hbo.com/weareone/. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ a b Daunt, Tina (2009-01-13). "Jonas Brothers, Aretha Franklin among stars at Obama inauguration parties". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-cause13-2009jan13,0,5499399.story. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ "Bishop asks God to keep Obama safe, give him joy". USA Today. January 18, 2009. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/religion/post/2009/01/61556114/1.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (2009-01-12). "Springsteen, Bono, Beyonce to Play Obama Inaugural Concert". Spin. SPIN MEDIA LLC.. http://www.spin.com/articles/springsteen-bono-beyonce-play-obama-inaugural-concert. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Brian Stelter (January 18, 2009). "It’s Not TV. It’s BHO.". New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/its-not-tv-its-bho/.
- ^ We are One: Barack Obaman juhlakonsertti YLE TV1 21.15 - 23.20
- ^ The Obama Inaugural Celebration NPS Nederland 3 20.30-22.36
- ^ http://store.hbo.com/detail.php?p=100224&v=hbo_dvds
Barack Obama Life and politics - Early life and career
- Illinois Senate elections
- Illinois Senate career
- U.S. House election in Illinois, 2000
- 2004 Democratic National Convention
- U.S. Senate election in Illinois, 2004
- U.S. Senate career
- 2008 presidential primary campaign
- Obama–Biden 2008
- Electoral history
- Political positions (Economic, Social, Energy, Foreign/Administration foreign policy)
- Nobel Peace Prize
- 2012 presidential re-election campaign
- West Wing Week
Presidency - Transition
- Inauguration
- Timeline: 2009, 2010, 2011
- Judiciary (Supreme Court candidates)
- Foreign policy (Obama Doctrine)
- First 100 days
- Health care reform
- Presidential trips (2009, 2010, 2011)
- People pardoned
- Death of Osama bin Laden
Books Speeches - "The Audacity of Hope" (2004)
- "A More Perfect Union" (2008)
- "Change Has Come to America" (2008)
- "A New Birth of Freedom" (2009)
- Joint session of Congress (February 2009)
- "A New Beginning" (2009)
- Joint session of Congress (health care reform) (September 2009)
- State of the Union (2010)
- Barack Obama Tucson memorial speech (2011)
- State of the Union (2011)
- Joint session of Congress (jobs) (2011)
Family - Michelle Obama (spouse)
- Stanley Ann Dunham (mother)
- Barack Obama, Sr. (father)
- Lolo Soetoro (stepfather)
- Maya Soetoro-Ng (half-sister)
- Stanley Armour Dunham (grandfather)
- Madelyn Payne Dunham (grandmother)
- Marian Shields Robinson (mother-in-law)
- Craig Robinson (brother-in-law)
- Bo (family dog)
Categories:- 2009 in the United States
- Concerts
- Inauguration of Barack Obama
- HBO network specials
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