Donald Trump has pledged to "make America great again" - and if nothing else, his inauguration certainly promises to be one of the greatest parties ever.

But it will also have a strong, serious side, reflecting the many challenges on the national and international stage that lie ahead for Trump and his team.

The five-day festival includes balls, dinners and a parade, and culminates with a special "national prayer service" at Washington National Cathedral.

This will have a focus on the Christian evangelical tradition that was key in propelling him to power, but will also include multi-faith prayer to indicate his determination to work with people of all faiths and none.

Details of his inauguration in January were released this week on a new, special website that has been created, along with Twitter and Facebook pages giving updates and interesting historical facts.

The start of the inauguration will be a sober event - a  wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery. This will be followed by a concert. 

The "Make America Great Again!" welcome celebration at Lincoln Memorial will be on Thursday 19 January.

Inauguration committee chairman Tom Barrack said: "President-elect Trump is committed to unifying our country as we once again celebrate the foundation of our American system and the peaceful transfer of power.

"The 2017 inaugural celebrations will reflect President-elect Trump's eagerness to get to work in order to make our country safer and stronger."

He added: "This will truly be a powerfully uniting moment for the American people. We will celebrate our country, its diverse and patriotic heritage, our democracy and the inaugural process as the greatest display of a peaceful transfer of partisan power in the world. We will stand together as a nation behind President-elect Donald Trump and his vision of a better future for every American."

The celebrations will kick off with dinners honoring Trump, his conservative evangelical Vice-President-elect Mike Pence and cabinet secretaries on Tuesday 17 January.

There will be a concert celebrating the American people, two inaugural balls and a "Salute to the Armed Services" ball celebrating the forces and first responders.

The swearing in will be on Friday 20 January followed by the Inaugural Parade along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The tone of the events was conveyed by a series of tweets celebrating American heroes:

The team also tweeted details of the event as they emerged, along with "presidential facts of the day".