Emily Atkinson
Live editor, in Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

Thousands of people descended on the US capital today in a wide-ranging show of resistance to the policies of the incoming Trump administration.

Compared to previous marches, today's was relatively small - groups, made up mainly of women, gathered at various points around Washington, and coalesced on the National Mall to make their final stand.

Protests aside, Washington is a hive of activity. Since it was announced the inauguration was being moved inside due to the cold weather, last-minute efforts to reshape events to suit the Capitol interior have ramped up.

That doesn't mean the outside isn't getting equal attention - metal barriers stretching as far as the eye can see are lining just about every street in central DC, and more are being erected as I type.

Judging by the swelling numbers arriving ahead of the big day - and with all the central hotels now fully booked - people appear undeterred by the descending chill.

Sourcing extra layers won't be an issue for the Trump-loyal, with makeshift stalls piled high with "Make America Great Again" (Maga) caps, t-shirts and hoodies popping up all over the city.

Tomorrow is the eve of Trump's inauguration.

A rally has been organised to mark the occasion, with Elon Musk and Hulk Hogan slated to speak alongside the president-elect to the crowds of supporters that have made the trip to share in this historic moment.

We'll be back tomorrow to cover all the action with live updates and analysis. Join us then.

Image source, Reuters

We'll be ending our live coverage shortly. Before we go, here's a whip around of anything you might have missed from across the day:

• Thousands of people took to the streets of Washington DC today, two days before the Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office
• Demonstrators gathered under a banner of issues from reproductive rights to climate change - though organisers say they were unified in confronting "Trumpism"
• Today's march was a rebranded protest movement, previously known as the Women’s March, which has taken place every year since 2017
• The BBC's John Sudworth sent us a clip from the National Mall, where protestors gathered to make their final stand
• The Mall was also expected to feature as part of Trump's inauguration on Monday- but a bitter Arctic blast has forced events to be moved indoors

Image source, AP

On Monday, Donald Trump will reclaim the Oval Office for his second term as president of the United States.

He's promised big changes for the world's largest economy.

An "end to the devastating inflation crisis", tariffs and big cuts to taxes, regulation and the size of government are all on the agenda.

This combination, he says, will ignite an economic boom and revive withering faith in the American dream.

But looming over the president-elect are warnings that many of his policies are more likely to hurt the economy than help it.

And as he prepares to set his plans in motion, analysts say he is about to run into political and economic realities that will make it hard to deliver all his promises.

• Read business reporter Natalie Sherman's analysis of Trump's key promises

Image source, Getty Images

Among the musical guests slated to ring in Donald Trump's return to the White House, another name has just been added to the list: Nelly.

The American rapper is set to perform at Monday’s Liberty Inaugural Ball, an event that the president-elect is also expected to deliver his own remarks at, CNN reports.

The line up also includes Carrie Underwood, Billy Ray Cyrus and the Village People.

Jake Lapham
Live reporter

Image source, TRUMP VANCE TRANSITION TEAM HANDOUT/EPA

Serious. Ominous. A "message picture".

Those are some of the descriptions of Donald Trump's newest official portrait, captured by his chief photographer, Daniel Torok.

In the photo, the president-elect wears a stern expression, eyebrow cocked.

"The official portrait of the president is the most printed, most seen image of the president, ever," former White House photographer Eric Draper told the BBC.

• Read more on this story

Thousands of demonstrators have been marching through the streets of Washington today in protest against the policies of Donald Trump, two days before he marks his return to the White House.

The BBC's John Sudworth went down to the protest to take a read of the mood there - here's what he sent to us from the National Mall:

Donald Trump is packing up from his balmy Florida residence of Mar-A-Lago today to begin his journey to the nation's frosty capital ahead of his inauguration on Monday.

Outside of contending with a nearly 40 degree Fahrenheit temperature swing, here's what Trump and other members of his team will be up to this weekend:

• Cabinet dinner: Vice-President-elect JD Vance will attend an evening reception for incoming Cabinet members and host a dinner in Washington DC
• Fireworks show: The president-elect will then host a reception at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia. CBS News, the BBC's US partner, reports that the night will end with a fireworks show
• Arlington cemetery: Trump will spend Sunday morning participating at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery
• One last rally: Sunday afternoon will see Trump convene at the Capital One Arena in downtown DC, with speakers like Elon Musk, Hulk Hogan and US actor Jon Voight. It's the same venue where people who had hoped to attend the inauguration outside the Capitol will instead gather on Monday to watch the proceedings
• Church service: Trump will start Monday morning by attending a service at St John’s Episcopal Church, located across Lafayette Park from the White House, a tradition for presidents-elect

It's not just DC locals in the crowd at today's People's March - the event has drawn activists from across the country.

One protestor, Matthew, spent 13 hours on a flight to ensure he could make it to the nation's capital today.

"I don't believe you can complain about politics if you're not taking action, so I'm taking action," he tells the BBC.

He says his hope by taking three flights back-to-back to Washington was to bring awareness.

Another woman, Tiffany, came from the western state of Utah to show her support for marginalised groups.

"We have to stand up for what we believe in: women's rights, people's right," Tiffany says.

As we've been reporting, thousands of people have taken to the streets of the US capital for the People's March.

Here are some of the latest pictures from across the city:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, EPA

Holly Honderich
Reporting from Washington DC

Tamika Middleton, managing director of the Women’s March, knows many anti-Trump Americans might be tired of marching.

“People are feeling exhausted,” she says. “Listen, I am feeling exhausted.”

For millions of progressives across the US, Donald Trump’s second presidential victory was a painful blow, and dashed the hopes placed on the anti-Trump “resistance” formed in 2017 meant to thwart the Republican’s Make America Great Again (Maga) agenda and keep him from power again.

But Middleton insists there is still a place for the Women’s March, even if attendance falls short of the historic first march, which brought around 500,000 people to DC.

“Mass protest has been and continues to be a very important part of resistance,” she says.

But she adds that she and other organisers of this year’s march are looking forward, beyond Saturday, to figure out how to turn these demonstrations into political outcomes.

“The march is the lowest of barrier into the movement, it’s a way to bring new people in,” she says. “The march is not the end game.”

As the march continues, we can now bring you some video sent by our BBC teams on the ground in downtown Washington.

Watch below as protesters holding placards cheer and chant their way down the streets of DC:

Protesters taking part in the People's March are now starting to make their way past the Washington Monument, located on the National Mall about halfway between the US Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.

On one side of the monument, you can see the people taking part in today's People's March holding up signs that express their views on various issues.

"Climate change is real", and "black lives matter" read some of the placards.

Image source, Getty Images

On the road opposite the Washington Monument, a smaller group of people wearing Make America Great Again (Maga) hats is posing while they take smiling selfies in front of the demonstration.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The People's March in downtown DC kicked off just over an hour ago. In case you're just joining us now, here's what you need to know:

• The demonstration has drawn thousands of people to the streets of DC
• It's a chilly weekend for most in the nation's capital. While we're getting a rare reprieve of 7C (45F) in the city today, it'll dip to -11C (12F) on Monday
• People are gathering under a banner of different issues, though organisers say they're unified in confronting "Trumpism"
• Elsewhere, Donald Trump is expected to arrive in the city today ahead of his inauguration
• The president-elect and his team are holding a number of pre-inauguration events this weekend, including a reception at his golf course and a dinner at the National Gallery of Art

Today's march is expected to last until 13:00 EST (18:00 GMT) when a People's Fair will kick-off at the Lincoln Memorial until 15:00 local time (20:00 GMT). We'll be following updates closely, so stick with us until then.

Lucia Smith is a returning participant for the march in DC.

Having originally made the journey to the nation's capital eight years ago from Trenton, New Jersey - back when the march was called the Women's March - she is out in the streets today donning her knit blue "pussyhat" once more.

"I wanted to show up to resist and not comply in advance," the therapist explains while holding up a sign that shows her support for the climate crisis.

She points out that today's march is "more inclusive" than the original January 2017 demonstration, which drew a crowd of an estimated 500,000 people and was focused more on reproductive rights.

"We're all here for multiple reasons," she says, highlighting some of the signage that she sees around her, including "democracy, bodily autonomy, pro-immigration, anti-over incarceration".

"It's much more of an inclusive crowd with lots of issues with Donald Trump," she adds, before she stresses one of the unifying issues they're opposed to: "anti-oligarchy."

Alex Lederman
Reporting from People's March

The march to the Lincoln Memorial has started, and with groups from the three starting points converging, the size of the protest is growing significantly.

While we haven’t seen the full size of the crowd, turnout is clearly down from eight years ago.

Susie came in from the San Francisco Bay Area to march with her sister Anne, who lives nearby. They both attended the Women’s March after Trump’s first inauguration and came back in their "pussyhats".

“I had booked my plane ticket last time in advance for Hillary [Clinton's] inauguration, and I ended up marching against Trump,” Susie says.

Susie remembers the sea of people at The Ellipse year. She says she hopes people will still feel a need to take to the streets against Trump’s policies.

“This time the stakes are higher,” she says. “Trump has been emboldened. He’s got the billionaire class and the tech class bowing down.”

But Anne also recognises they are “out of touch” with a lot of America. Nevertheless, the sisters will keep coming out to try to create the America they’d like to see.

“We’re still here, and we will resist,” Anne says.

Image source, Getty Images

Here in Washington, temperatures have been frigid of late.

Those out marching today are experiencing the warmest weather in days, with highs of 7C (45F) in the city.

But by Monday - inauguration day - temperatures are expected to fall to lows of -11C (12F). With wind chill factored in, it will feel significantly colder.

Announcing that the ceremony would be moved indoors on Truth Social, Trump said that he does not "want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way" due to the freezing temperatures.

By the end of next week, it's expected the dangerous cold will move out of the nation's capital.

Image source, Getty

Women who have gathered in Washington to participate in the People's March tell the BBC they braved the cold for a variety of reasons.

One woman, Brooke, says she wants to show her support for reproductive freedoms.

"I'm really not happy with the way our country's voted," she says. "I'm really sad that our country's leaned towards a president that's already failed us once and that we did not nominate a female candidate."

Another woman, Kayla, says it's a mix of emotions that brought her out to the streets of DC.

"Honestly, I'm just mad, I'm sad, I'm overwhelmed," she says.

Today's march is being organised by people who are representing various causes, including the climate crisis, immigration, women's rights and many other issues.

Confronting "Trumpism" is a unifying theme of today's demonstration, organisers say.

Here, you can take a look at the signs people are holding, which depicts the wide range of issues they are representing today:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, the People's March in DC is a newly rebranded protest movement - previously known as the Women’s March.

It's being organised by multiple groups, who are described on the website as "hold intersecting identities" and having "varied issue-based interests". Because of this, organisers are directing participants to join the march from three different locations across the city, starting at 10:00 EST (15:00 GMT).

Starting spots include:

• Farragut Square: People starting here will join groups that focus on democracy, immigration, anti militarism, and climate

• McPherson Square: People starting here will join groups that focus on issues facing DC - with representation from Harriet's Wildest Dreams, Free DC, Palestinian Youth Movement DC, and many other DC-focused organisations
• Franklin Park: People starting here will join groups that focus on bodily autonomy, gender justice and LGBTQIA issues

The march will start at 11:00 EST (16:00 GMT) and will last until 13:00 EST (18:00 GMT) when a fair will begin.

All participants, regardless of where they joined, will gather together at the Lincoln Memorial, which is located on the western end of the National Mall.