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SCMP Reporters

All times are Eastern Time (UTC-5, HKT-13).
Joe Biden has now been sworn in as the 46th US president, and Kamala Harris as the 49th vice-president, entering office with an appeal to unity and calm in the wake of the recent attacks on Congress.
“Let’s start afresh, all of us,” Biden told an assembled audience – including previous surviving presidents, minus Donald Trump who flew to Florida before the event, and 96-year-old Jimmy Carter – as he called for unity, social justice and calmer heads in the face of divisions that have wracked America. 


“Disagreement must not lead to disunion, and I pledge to you – I will be a president for all Americans,” he said, promising to fight “for those who did not support me as well as those who did”. Read on for a blow-by-blow account of the inauguration ceremony as it happened, including performances by Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Garth Brooks and poet Amanda Gorman.
As part of SCMP’s commitment to providing our readers with expert coverage of the US election, this live blog is free to all. Please support us on our mission to bring you quality journalism.


As it happened: Joe Biden sworn in as president as he vows post-Trump unity

New US President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters 

Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th US President at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

US flags representing those who could not attend the inauguration due to Covid-19, flutter in the wind before the Inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

US President-elect Joe Biden on December 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump leaves parting Oval Office letter for Joe Biden

Donald Trump leaves White House, snubbing Joe Biden’s inauguration

Joe Biden plans immediate executive actions as Donald Trump era ends

How Mike Pompeo’s ‘genocide’ label for China over Xinjiang may set tone for Joe Biden

China revamps trade negotiation team ahead of possible fresh talks with Biden administration

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US President Donald Trump speaks at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

President Donald Trump waves as he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. Photo: AP

Workers are in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump departs on Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, in Washington. Trump is en route to his Mar-a-Lago Florida Resort. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at the Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., January 20, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

A military aide carries the nuclear "football" with the equipment and nuclear codes to Marine One after US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania borded Marine One before departing from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on January 20, 2021. - President Trump travels his Mar-a-Lago golf club residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and will not attend the inauguration for President-elect Joe Biden. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

Facing crush of crises, Joe Biden will take the helm as US president. Photo: AP

US flags are seen in the early morning as preparations continue for the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

The incoming administration has indicated it agrees with Mike Pompeo’s determination that Beijing’s abuses against Uygurs and other minorities amount to genocide. Photo: AFP

Analysts expect US President Joe Biden to reach out to China, but not right away. Photo: Getty Images

The United States and China signed their phase-one trade deal in January 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE


Biden is now the 46th president and Kamala Harris the 49th vice-president
‘Let's start afresh, all of us,’ Biden says to gathered crowd, but Trump has already flown to Florida



Biden is now the 46th president and Kamala Harris the 49th vice-president. ‘Let’s start afresh, all of us,’ Biden says in push for post-Trump unity.


Joe Biden inauguration

US Presidential Election 2020

Joe Biden

US Politics

Donald Trump

United States

US-China relations

US-China decoupling

US-China trade war

US-China trade war: All stories

Live

While Joe Biden’s inauguration ceremony is socially distanced and has minimal crowds due to limitations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, it still features a live military band and the arrival of major political figures including Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi. Watch the introduction to the ceremony below.



Watch Joe Biden’s opening ceremony

US President Donald Trump left Washington for the last time as commander in chief on Wednesday morning, about three hours before Joe Biden was set to be sworn in as the 46th president.
In a brief final speech to a small crowd of family and supporters at Joint Base Andrews, where Air Force One was waiting to take him to Florida, Trump said the last four years had been “incredible”. He wished luck to “the new administration” but did not say Biden’s name and is skipping the inauguration ceremony. He still has not admitted that he lost a fair election, even after a crowd of his supporters unleashed a deadly attack on the Capitol building two weeks ago in an attempt to stop the formal certification of the results.
“I think they'll have great success,” Trump said of the incoming administration. “They have the foundation to do something really spectacular. We put it in a position like it's never been before.”



Trump departs Washington for final time as president

In his brief departing speech, outgoing US President Donald Trump also blamed China one last time for the coronavirus pandemic, which consumed the final year of his one-term presidency and killed its 400,000th American on Tuesday.
“The first thing we have to do is pay our respects and our love to the incredible people and families who are suffering so gravely from the China virus,” said Trump, who has faced widespread criticism for his mismanagement of the pandemic, and for referring to the coronavirus by that name. “It's a horrible thing that was put on to the world. We all know where it came from, but it's a horrible horrible thing.”
“Places that thought they got away with it didn't get away with it. They're suffering right now,” Trump added. Today marks one year to the day since the first known Covid-19 case was reported in the US.


A parting shot at China

The most pressing challenge facing Biden as he takes the reins today is undoubtedly bringing the coronavirus pandemic under control. As a new strain of Covid-19 takes a footing in parts of the country, the US death toll surpassed 400,000 on Tuesday, the highest total for any country in the world.
As Trump spent his last evening as president inside the White House on Tuesday, Biden and Harris attended a memorial service in Washington to honour those lost to the virus.
“To heal, we must remember,” said Biden. Last week, he had warned that “things will get worse before they get better.”
Biden’s incoming chief of staff, Ron Klain, who coordinated the Obama administration’s Ebola response, projected over the weekend that the death toll could reach 500,000 by the end of February.
Beyond the soaring death toll, the Biden administration will also inherit a nascent vaccination effort that has been riddled with delays and shortages, with federal and state officials blaming each other for the problems. Biden has pledged to accelerate the rollout by building mobile vaccination clinics, expanding eligibility, and invoking a wartime provision to bolster vaccine production.


Biden faces the coronavirus pandemic

Joe Biden plans to issue 17 executive orders on his first day as president, signing a slew of directives to address the coronavirus pandemic and undo some of Donald Trump’s harshest policies.
Biden will sign orders to impose a mask mandate on federal property and install a coronavirus response coordinator to oversee White House efforts to distribute vaccines and medical supplies.
Other actions will move to reverse Trump's withdrawal of the US from several international agreements, including rejoining the Paris climate accord and halting the US departure from the World Health Organization. Biden will also undo several immigration crackdowns, ending the travel ban on passport holders from seven Muslim-majority countries and stopping the funding for the wall along the Mexican border. For more details, see the full story here.




Flurry of executive orders on Day 1

Expect a rough transition for the Biden-Harris administration concerning the trade war with China, one of the few areas in which US and Chinese officials remained engaged to the very end of Trump's tenure.
“Transition is not a priority for USTR,” the chief of staff for the United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a Biden official in the run-up to the inauguration, Politico reported.
Trump started the trade war in July 2018 with punitive tariffs on US$34 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move that sparked an immediate response by Beiijng with duties on an equivalent amount of US goods. The two sides eventually reached a "phase one" trade deal a year ago, when China agreed to boost purchases of US goods.


Trade war, continued

The Supreme Court, which sits a stone's throw from the Capitol complex where the inauguration ceremony is being held, has received a bomb threat but will not be evacuated, a court spokeswoman tells CNN.
"The court received a bomb threat, the building and grounds were checked out, and the building is not being evacuated,” says Supreme Court public information officer Kathleen Arberg.


Supreme Court receives bomb threat

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris, along with their spouses, have arrived at the Capitol. Vice-President Mike Pence, as well as former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are attending the ceremony. The socially distanced crowd of dignitaries also features justices of the US Supreme Court and members of Congress, including some lawmakers who had tried up to the last possible moment to overturn the election results in Trump’s favour.


Biden and Harris arrive

In a fitting end to his presidency, Donald Trump’s final appearance at Joint Base Andrews felt more like a campaign rally than a dignified reflection during a key moment in history. Fittingly, the music for Wednesday morning’s event – which the former reality TV star often reportedly chooses himself – echoed the playlist at dozens of his rallies in recent years including House of the Rising Sun, Eye of the Tiger and We Are the Champions.
As Air Force One lifted off en route to Trump’s home in Florida, Frank Sinatra’s My Way reached its crescendo to snickers from some viewers. Trump’s legendary feuding with opponents, allies and adversaries from Beijing to Berlin has also played out over playlists, with dozens of musicians strongly opposing his use of their music, including Adele, Elton John, Queen, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones.
In response, some have issued cease-and-desist orders and threatened legal action, including Aerosmith, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eddy Grant and Rihanna. Others have taken a more clever approach. When Trump used Here Comes the Sun to introduce his daughter Ivanka Trump, George Harrison’s estate strongly objected before adding that they might let him use Beware of Darkness.
And after the 45th president used Live and Let Die while visiting a meatpacking plant without wearing a mask, Guns N’ Roses lead vocalist Axl Rose created T-shirts that read: "Live N’ Let Die With COVID 45".
Other presidents have sparred over music since John Adams rolled out Adams and Liberty during his 1800 presidential run, but few have been as blunt as R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe, who told Trump: “Do not use our music or my voice for your moronic charade of a campaign.”



Final playlist draws chuckles

What is Trump's legacy? See our analysis by Jacob Fromer here.


Trump’s legacy

Few may know that Kamala Harris is one of a small number of US politicians not of Chinese descent who has adopted a Chinese name: 賀錦麗. Pronounced “He Jinli” in Mandarin or “Ho Gam-lai” in Cantonese, the characters of the surname and given name respectively translate roughly to “congratulate” and “intricate and beautiful”.
The name was given to Harris by a friend in the early 2000s when she was running for district attorney in San Francisco. Chinese officials and state media largely ignore the name, instead referring to her by the lengthy and somewhat meaningless transliteration of 卡瑪拉·哈里斯, or “kamala halisi” in Mandarin.
But if the past four years is any indication, you can expect social media users in China to favour their own satirical monikers for Harris and Biden.
Trump has come to be known by many nicknames, one of the most popular being 川建國, pronounced chuan jianguo in Mandarin and translating roughly to “Trump the nation builder”. Rather than a reference to his America-first platform, the name plays on the perception that his anti-China policies have only served to stoke nationalism within China. Meanwhile, his tendency to claim expertise in all manner of subjects has also earned him the name 懂王, pronounced dongwang in Mandarin and sardonically meaning “king of knowledge”.


Kamala Harris’ Chinese name

Also attending the inauguration is Bi-Khim Hsiao, Taiwan’s representative in Washington.
“I’m honoured to be here today on behalf of the people and government of Taiwan,” she says in a video posted on her Twitter account and filmed on the Capitol grounds. “Democracy is our common language and freedom is our common objective.”
The US does not have formal diplomatic relations with the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its own territory, but Washington’s relations with Taipei by many accounts grew closer during the Trump administration.
Honored to represent the people and government of Taiwan here at the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris. pic.twitter.com/KSatj8vIln
  — Bi-khim Hsiao 蕭美琴 (@bikhim) January 20, 2021


At inauguration: Taiwan’s official representative

Senate Democrats are preparing a sweeping democracy reform package as the first bill they plan to introduce when they convene as leaders of the chamber.
The bill, called the For The People Act, includes changes to voter registration requirements, more financing for election security, requirements for presidents and vice-presidents to disclose their tax returns and new ethics rules for members of Congress.


Democracy reform on the agenda

Donald Trump has left the US with the worst trade deficit in 14 years despite his aggressively deployed tariffs on China, which he claimed would have reduced the trade gap.
The US trade deficit on goods and services reached US$68.1 billion as of November, the highest since August 2006, according to the US Census Bureau. When Trump was sworn into the office at the beginning of 2017, the US trade deficit was US$39.5 billion. While the trade gap held largely steady with China, the US's trade gap with other countries significantly widened.


Trump leaves behind high trade deficit

Beginning the ceremony’s speeches, Senator Amy Klobuchar, the Democrat from Minnesota, reminds those watching of a very different event that occurred on January 6 in the Capitol complex.
“Two weeks ago, when an angry, violent mob staged an insurrection and desecrated this temple of our democracy, it awakened us to our responsibilities as Americans,” says Klobuchar. “This is the day when our democracy picks itself up, brushes off the dust and does what America always does: goes forward as a nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Klobuchar is a member of the bipartisan congressional committee organising the inaugural ceremony.
Five people, including one Capitol police officer, died when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. With law enforcement agencies on high alert for a repeat of that violence today, 12 National Guard members were dropped this week from their duties related to the inauguration after an internal screening.



‘Our democracy goes forward,’ Klobuchar says

Pop icon Lady Gaga performs the national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. She wears an outfit that evokes the colours of the American flag – a navy top with a large gold-coloured dove holding an olive branch and a billowing, bright red skirt.




Lady Gaga sings the anthem

Kamala Harris is officially sworn in as the 49th vice-president of the United States, becoming the first woman, the first African-American and the first Asian-American to hold the office.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Latina member, administered the oath of office. Harris is beaming as she wraps up her oath. Biden, standing behind her, can be heard exclaiming, “All right!”




Harris takes vice-presidential oath

Joe Biden has been sworn in as the 46th American president, witnessed by former presidents – excluding Donald Trump, who flew to Florida before the event in a break with tradition, and 96-year-old Jimmy Carter – and by now-former Vice-President Mike Pence.




Joe Biden sworn in as US president

While the inauguration marks an important milestone after four tumultuous years of Donald Trump’s tenure, analysts are taking note of the nation’s wary and guarded mood.
The daunting to-do list facing Joe Biden has been compared to those greeting Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt when they took office, including a raging pandemic, an imploding economy, global warming, tension with China and festering race relations.
At least as pointed for many Americans and other democracies is the deep divide, populism, resentment, and conservative backlash that Trump exploited leading to his garnering of 74 million votes in the November elections and the January 6 breaching of the Capitol building.
“I am expressing a sigh of relief” at Trump’s departure, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and author of Fascism: A Warning tells MSNBC. But she adds that many of the issues that fuelled Trump’s rise are still there.
Others, including ex-president Jimmy Carter’s former speechwriter James Fallows, are taking a guardedly optimistic line. “The history of democracy in the United States is about getting into trouble and figuring out how to get out of trouble,” the Atlantic magazine national correspondent tells PBS News Hour.


The nation’s wary and guarded mood

President Joe Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are showcasing American designers during the inauguration.
The president is wearing a navy suit and navy overcoat by Ralph Lauren. Jill Biden is wearing a teal wool tweed coat and dress by Alexandra O’Neill of the Markarian label.
Harris wears a purple outfit by two black designers: Christopher John Rogers, from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Sergio Hudson of South Carolina. Rogers and Hudson have dressed former first lady Michelle Obama and Beyoncé.
Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, wears a Ralph Lauren suit.



American fashion designers on display

Jennifer Lopez, accompanied by the US Marine band, sings This Land is Your Land, a song sometimes referred to as an alternative national anthem, and weaves in the chorus of the more traditional America the Beautiful. The former was written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. The lyrics for the latter were written by Katharine Lee Bates, and the music composed by Samuel Ward, a choirmaster.




Jennifer Lopez sings ‘This Land Is Your Land’

President Joe Biden’s speech is loaded with tacit references to the legacy of his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump, who chose to shun today’s ceremonies after weeks of false claims of widespread, coordinated voter fraud.
Democracy has “prevailed”, says Biden, who thanks the former US presidents from both parties who are in attendance: Bill Clinton, George Bush and Barack Obama.
“Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path,” says Biden, not mentioning Trump by name. “Every agreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.”
Where Trump used his inaugural address four years ago to proclaim that “from this moment on, it’s going to be America first”, Biden says today: “We can make America once again the leading force for good in the world.”



Biden sets new tone

Right on time, the @POTUS account on Twitter has been handed over to Biden. For four years, the government account served as something of an afterthought for Trump, who favoured his own personal account to make announcements, air grievances and fire staff.
When Twitter permanently deleted Trump’s personal account earlier this month over fears of incitement of violence, he turned to the @POTUS account to issue a statement of protest – a statement Twitter swiftly deleted.
Today’s digital transfer of power also took place for other White House accounts, including Vice-President Kamala Harris (@VP), First Lady Jill Biden (@FLOTUS), and press secretary Jen Psaki (@PressSec).
Unlike four years ago, when Trump inherited the followers of @POTUS under Obama, Twitter opted for a clean break this year, and is instead issuing in-app alerts to previous followers of the institutional accounts notifying them of the changes.
Folks — This will be the account for my official duties as President. At 12:01 PM on January 20th, it will become @POTUS. Until then, I'll be using @JoeBiden. And while you're here, follow @FLOTUSBiden @SenKamalaHarris @SecondGentleman and @Transition46.
  — President Biden (@POTUS) January 15, 2021


A peaceful transition of Twitter accounts

US stocks are continuing to climb, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both hitting record highs as Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president.
The markets are extending Tuesday’s advances as investors look forward to fast actions from the incoming Biden administration to battle the worsening coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 400,000 American lives.
Biden is set to begin pushing for more Covid-19 relief aid following the unveiling of a US$1.9 trillion proposal last week. Janet Yellen, Biden’s nominee for Treasury secretary, advocated for significant additional coronavirus relief spending during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.


US stocks hit record highs

Politico reports that Biden openly decried the treatment his aides were receiving at the Pentagon in December, calling it “nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility” after meetings were canceled ahead of Christmas.
The president said his people were denied information on the SolarWinds hack, and that his team “needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies”.
The Politico report is based on conversations with 10 Pentagon and Biden officials involved in the transition, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations. Click here to read the full article.


Biden decries aide treatment in December

Most of President Biden’s inaugural address focuses on a domestic audience and repairing a deeply divided America, but he directly addresses the foreign powers that are also no doubt watching the US today.
“Here’s my message to those beyond our borders,” he says, “America has been tested, and we’ve come out stronger for it.”
He adds: “We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again – not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's challenges.”


President Biden’s message to the world

Garth Brooks, a country music icon, sings Amazing Grace, the 18th century Christian hymn that has become an American standard.
Wearing his signature blue jeans, cowboy hat and boots, Brooks asks the audience present and watching remotely to sing the final chorus. He embraces Biden and Harris as he leaves the stage.




Garth Brooks sings ‘Amazing Grace’

Eugene Goodman, the Capitol Police officer hailed as a hero for his actions during the January 6 attack by violent pro-Trump supporters, is present at the Capitol, accompanying Vice-President Kamala Harris into the Capitol.
Goodman, who is African-American, confronted the overwhelmingly white insurrectionists and diverted them away from Senate chambers moments after then-vice-president Mike Pence was hustled out of the Senate chamber. For the full story, click here.
As trump’s fascist mob ransacked the US Capitol, this brave USCP officer kept murderous rioters away from the Senate chamber and saved the lives of those inside. God bless him for his courage. pic.twitter.com/fLWwCNJsE3
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) January 10, 2021


Police officer hailed as hero escorts Harris

Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in US history today as she recites her poem The Hill We Climb, a piece full of alliteration focusing on the toll that political strife has taken on America.
The 22-year-old was named the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles when she was 16. Gorman joins the likes of Maya Angelou and Robert Frost in the small group of poets who been featured at presidential inaugurations.




Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in US history

Leaders of US allies have begun sending their congratulations to President Biden and Vice-President Harris.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he “looks forward” to working with Biden on “issues that matter to us all”.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the US and Canada “will continue” their partnership.
Congratulations, @JoeBiden, on your inauguration as the 46th President of the United States. Our two countries have tackled some of history’s greatest challenges together - and I’m looking forward to continuing this partnership with you, @KamalaHarris, and your administration.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 20, 2021
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he hopes the two countries will further strengthen their alliance.
And European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says: “We’re both aware that what we have to do now is develop a global agenda – to join forces, and to tackle the big topics that are ahead of us: that’s fight climate change together, overcome this pandemic and rebuild multilateralism.”  She adds that Brussels and Washington both regard China as a “systemic rival”.


Congratulations from world leaders

As the world witnesses the transfer of power in Washington, questions remain over the significance of the violence that rocked the capital on January 6. Beijing has described the event as a failure of US democracy. Read our analysis of this judgment, by Eduardo Baptista and Mark Magnier.


Questions remain over pro-Trump violence

Donald Trump has made headlines in his final hours with a rash of pardons after weeks of speculation on whether he would pardon himself and his family. But the 140-plus pardons and commutations he announced on Wednesday face stiff competition.
Presidents dating back to George Washington have exercised their pardon power, many at the last minute. Barack Obama is still ahead of Trump, having set a record for the largest single-day use of executive clemency on the final day of his presidency, with 330 pardons. Obama also far outflanks Trump in his overall numbers of acts of clemency, with 1,927.


  
What distinguishes Trump in the pardon department, as with so much else, however, is his unorthodox style. While past presidents have generally relied on a formal vetting process, the 45th president has more often depended on his “gut”. That’s seen a string of supplicants and surrogates push their case on prime-time television, which he reportedly watches four hours a day.
Also notable for a president that pledged to fight corruption and clean up Washington was the very different signal his final hours sent. Early Wednesday morning, he rescinded an executive order that had limited federal administration officials from lobbying or working for foreign nations after leaving office. 
Trump’s pardon list dovetails with his willingness to protect his most loyal allies, many of whom have been caught up in corruption or lying charges. Prominent on Wednesday’s list were former advisor Steve Bannon, who was facing charges of fundraising fraud, and ex-fundraiser Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge after lobbying for a foreign billionaire. 



Trump issues more than 140 pardons and commutations

The US has a new president: Joseph R. Biden Jnr. has been sworn in as the nation’s 46th leader, replacing Donald Trump, who flew to Florida rather than follow tradition by attending his successor’s inauguration. In Trump’s stead was former vice-president Mike Pence, who has handed the baton to the newly sworn-in 49th VP, Kamala Harris. 
The full ceremony can be viewed in the video below:

The event was preceded by an introduction featuring a military band and the arrival of various major political figures, including Democratic Representative and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The start of the event, which had a reduced capacity due to the coronavirus pandemic, can be viewed below: 



Watch Joe Biden’s inauguration in full

South China Morning Post’s coverage of the inauguration of Joe Biden is now finished. If you joined us for the live feed, thank you – and if you missed it, read on for videos, articles and details of the event, including recordings of performances by Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks.
