5 Best Ways to Watch the Presidential Inauguration Online

Inauguration Live Streams & Other Methods

By
Stacy Fisher
Stacy is a freelancer with over 18 years experience writing about technology and personal finance. She has published hundreds of articles and co-authored a book.
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Stacy Fisher
Updated October 29, 2019

You don't have to watch the presidential inauguration on TV; there are several ways to stream the event online or catch highlights as it's happening.

The 2021 United States presidential inauguration will be held on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. On this day, the president-elect will be sworn in officially as the 46th President of the United States.

Below are the best places to watch the US presidential inauguration:

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Senate.gov: Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies

Hands holding American flag and digital tablet at the White House
PeskyMonkey/iStock

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies is the official place to find the latest and greatest streaming video and media for the presidential inauguration

Viewers can watch the actual swearing-in ceremonies live, view interactive maps of the ceremonies, and watch the entertainers participating in the presidential inauguration.

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Major News Sites: Several Ways to Stream the Inauguration Live

news outlets
Credit: Getty/Paul Bradbury

Every major news site (and most likely their respective YouTube channels) will be offering live inauguration coverage in 2021, including:

CNN usually schedules a special feature where you can watch the live inauguration online in tandem with other people who are following their Facebook page.

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C-SPAN: Live Streams & Videos of the Inauguration

C-SPAN logo

National Cable Satellite Corporation

C-SPAN puts together a presidential inauguration hub, with live video feeds from key events throughout the inauguration.

There are different C-SPAN channels that cover different proceedings. C-SPAN deals with live events on the floor of the U.S. House of representatives. C-SPAN2 covers live floor proceedings in the U.S. Senate. C-SPAN3 covers events that are considered public affairs, congressional hearings, and other related history programming.

When the House and Senate aren't in session or there are historical events that take precedence (such as the presidential inauguration), C-SPAN carries live coverage. You can watch the C-SPAN live feed, C-SPAN2 stream, and C-SPAN3 on the C-SPAN Live Stream page.

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Twitter: Live Inauguration Updates From Other Watchers

Twitter logo

Twitter, Inc.

Twitter is a literal fire hose of information, and can be a bit of an overload. However, if you're looking for live information on one of the most closely followed events worldwide, this is a great place to accomplish that.

Some hashtags you'll want to follow include #inauguration, #president, and of course, the name of the candidate who has been chosen to take the oath of office.

In addition, you'll want to take a look at users who do a great job of covering inaugural events, such as the White House @whitehouse and the U.S. Secret Service @secretservice.

Watch Twitter carefully, especially making use of trending hashtags, to get a head start on any breaking news or interesting events that might happen during the course of the inauguration. Twitter users are usually among the first to make these known, and it's a great way to get live, breaking news from first hand witnesses.

Last but not least, Twitter lets you compile lists of other users, and these lists are exceedingly handy to follow since you get updates from several accounts at once.

For example, this BreakingNews list handles almost every global source of news you can think of, saving you from having to follow the dozens upon dozens of accounts that are part of it.

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More Inauguration Live Streaming Options

Woman new anchor with paper in hand

Getty Images

Here are some other ways to watch the presidential inauguration live online:

Past Presidential Inauguration Streams