Viewers' guide to Biden's Inauguration Day: Everything you need to know

Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday in a ceremony that will keep with tradition while being unlike any other inauguration in U.S. history.

There will be pomp, ceremony, former presidents, congressional leaders, A-list performers, parades and tributes to the troops — but before a small, socially distanced audience in a city that has been locked down because of the dual threats of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 400,000 people in the U.S., and possible domestic terrorism after the deadly violence at the U.S. Capitol.

One thing there won't be is an argument that Biden will have drawn the biggest crowd in inauguration history — he and officials in Washington, D.C., hope it will be the smallest, with people watching from their couches instead of the National Mall.