The Bidens will hold a State Dinner on Wednesday for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon, but guests will no longer be treated to tunes by the B-52s. Deadline reports the “relentlessly upbeat” new wave band won’t take the White House stage as planned out of respect for what’s happening on the global stage. Without explicitly mentioning the Israel-Hamas war, First Lady Jill Biden announced the change, saying, “While we had initially planned for legendary B-52s to perform their iconic dance and party music, we are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain, so we made a few adjustments to the entertainment portion of the evening.”
The Marine band and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings will instead provide instrumental music; the band members of “Love Shack” fame will still attend as guests. The AP reports it’s the fourth state visit for President Biden, who welcomed the leaders of France, South Korea, and India before Albanese. This invitation was extended after the president had to ax a planned stop to Australia during his May Indo-Pacific trip due to budget talks with Congress. The 300-plus-person guest list will remain under wraps until just before guests start to stream in for the black-tie affair.
The Biden administration said postponing the state visit, which always ends with a state dinner, was not an option, “casting Albanese’s visit as part of the important diplomatic balancing act that a president must undertake with US allies worldwide,” as the AP puts it. The Bidens had a private dinner with Albanese and Haydon at the White House on Tuesday night and gave the couple an antique writing desk as an official gift. President Biden also gifted Albanese a custom turntable, while Jill Biden gave Haydon a green enamel and diamond petite necklace.
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