Trump says 'celebrities' want tickets to his inauguration as musicians refuse to perform

In another of his late-evening tweets, US President-elect Donald Trump has said that "'A'-list celebrities" are clambering for tickets to his inauguration, but that they did "nothing" for Hillary Clinton and he wants "the people".

The messages comes after a flurry of stories suggesting musicians were turning down invitations to perform. On Thursday (22 December), the Mormon Tabernacle Choir joined the inauguration line-up alongside American's Got Talent 2010 runner-up, Jackie Evancho, and the Radio City Rockettes.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir have performed at inaugurations before, according to the LA Times, having sung at the swearing-in ceremonies of Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and George W Bush.

TMZ reported that KISS frontman Gene Simmons was invited to perform but turned it down. Andrea Bocelli was also mooted as a possible performer, but Page Six stated that he did not go ahead after a fan backlash.

At one point, a member of Trump's transition team announced that Elton John would be playing but John's PR team "categorically denied" that a performance would take place.

Trump ended his tweet saying "look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!" alluding to Hillary Clinton's widespread support among celebrities. In the days running up the election, Katy Perry and Jon Bon Jovi played a concert in support of the Democratic candidate; a day before Beyonce and Jay-Z gave speeches alongside Clinton.

Trump's inauguration is set to cost over 50% more than Barack Obama's second inauguration in 2013. A brochure for big donors also said that those donating $1m (£814,000) to the event would get an "intimate dinner" with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, along with a "candlelit dinner" with "special appearances" from Donald and Melania Trump and Mike and Karen Pence.