Thursday 9 June 2022 02:58 AM Biden opens Summit of the Americas with Hollywood-style opening ceremony trends now

President Joe Biden opened the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles Wednesday evening with a Holly-wood style opening ceremony at the Microsoft Theater - typically a venue for the Emmys. 

'We meet again today in a moment when democracy is under assault around the world, let us unite again and renew our conviction that democracy is not only the defining feature of American history, but the essential ingredient to Americas' future,' the president said. 

Ahead of the summit, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would boycott the gathering of the leaders of North, Central and South America over the U.S.'s plans to not invite the authoritarian heads of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. 

Biden stuck with the snub - and López Obrador made good on not showing. 

'Our region is large and diverse. We don't always agree on everything. But because we are democracies, we work through our disagreements with mutual respect and dialogue,' Biden told the crowd.

A number of heads of state were present, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife. Earlier, Vice President Kamala Harris gave remarks welcoming the crowd to her home state of California. 

As Biden went through some of aims of the summit, he also argued to leaders that 'safe and orderly migration' helps the region. 

'Unlawful migration is not acceptable,' the president said. 'We will enforce our borders.' 

Besides the Mexican president, the heads of the three Northern Triangle countries - Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador - which are responsible for most of the migrants crossing into the United States, are not attending the summit.  

The president was briefly interrupted by single, female protester at the beginning of his remarks. She continued yelling as she was walked to the back of the theater by security.

The president had followed a song-and-dance number, complete with percussionists roaming through the theater, that had been put together by Emilio Estefan, who's long been active in Democratic politics. 

'I probably should stop right here, I've followed some difficult acts in the past ... but not such a difficult act as I've seen in the last 45 minutes up here,' he said - a remark meant for the performers, but worked for the protester too. 

The inaugural program also included performances from Colombian singer Jorge Celedon, Mexico's Alex Fernandez and the Mariachi Divas Espectacular - which, as the name suggests, is a large Mariachi ensemble. 

Cirque du Soleil performers dangled from the stage to a rendition of 'Lean on Me' performed by The Tenors, with the musical accompaniment done by 'The President's Own' Marine Band.  

Attendees exited to John Williams' theme music from the movie Hook. 

Biden had landed in Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon for the Summit of the Americas with Hunter's daughter Naomi and her fiance Peter Neal at his side.

He was greeted at LAX by California Gov. Gavin Newsom - who easily won his primary Tuesday night - and his children, along with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's, whose nomination to become Biden's ambassador to India is stalled in the Senate. 

The president's granddaughter Naomi and her finance Neal are set to have their wedding reception at the White House in November when they tie the knot. 

During the flight, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said nothing will be off the table when Biden meets with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the summit Thursday - including talk about democratic elections after Bolsonaro this week questioned Biden's 2020 win.

'There are not topics off limits in any bilateral the president does, including with President Bolsonaro, first. Second, I do anticipate that the president will discuss open, free, fair, transparent democratic elections,' Sullivan told reporters on board Air Force One. 

Biden is set to sit face-to-face with Bolsonaro for the first time as president as part of the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. 

In the run-up to the summit Bolsonaro, nicknamed 'Trump of the Tropics' raised doubts that Biden was indeed the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, echoing his political ally former President Donald Trump's false election fraud claims. 

'The American people are the ones who talk about [election fraud,],' he said in a TV interview, according to Reuters. 'I will not discuss the sovereignty of another country. But Trump was doing really well.'