A look back at presidential inaugurations: Past performers, attendance numbers

Presidential inaugurations didn’t always mean booking A-list celebrity performers and garnering over a million attendees.

>> Read more trending stories

In fact, former president George W. Bush attracted an approximate total of 700,000 attendees for both of his inaugurations combined.

Nearly 900,000 people are expected to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony and inaugural parade on Friday, according to the D.C. Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

RELATED: Donald Trump's inauguration: Here's a list of Democrats who are not attending 

And performers will include "America's Got Talent" finalist Jackie Evancho, American country music artist Lee Greenwood, rock group 3 Doors Down, singer Toby Keith, YouTube stars The Piano Guys, DJ Ravidrums, The Frontmen of Country and Jon Voight.

RELATED: Donald Trump's inauguration: What time, what channel, live-stream, schedule of events 

It's important to note that the exact number of attendees isn't so easy to count. For decades, the National Park Service provided official crowd estimates for gatherings on the National Mall, according to the Associated Press. But that changed after 1995.

To come up with this compilation, we relied on news archives to give you the data.

So, how do Trump’s attendance estimates and list of performers stack up against past presidential inaugurations?

Here’s a look back at the past 11:

About the Author