BARACK Obama claimed the mantle of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King as he told nearly half a million people gathered in Washington: "The dream of our founders will live on in our time."

The President-elect spoke on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during a celebrity-packed concert to celebrate his inauguration tomorrow.

The show opened with a blast of trumpets and Denzel Washington talking about the theme of unity.

Then the backdrop of flags parted for Bruce Springsteen coming on with a red-robed gospel choir as his backing group, for a song written after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

All the songs were picked for their uplifting qualities. Stevie Wonder, another personal favourite of Mr Obama, performed Higher Ground. Jon Bon Jovi sang A Change Is Gonna Come with Betty LaVette and Sheryl Crow.

But it was Mr Obama who silenced the crowd of 400,000 gathered in the national mall.

In a speech that gave a hint of the rhetorical flourish with which he hopes to uplift the American nation and the world tomorrow after being sworn into office, Mr Obama promised a better future despite the growing economic crisis.

"In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now," he said.

"Our nation is at war. Our economy is in crisis. Millions of Americans are losing their jobs and their homes; they're worried about how they'll afford college for their kids or pay the stack of bills on their kitchen table.

"Most of all, they are anxious and uncertain about the future - about whether this generation of Americans will be able to pass on what's best about this country to our children and their children." He continued: "I won't pretend that meeting any one of these challenges will be easy. It will take more than a month or a year, and it will likely take many.

"Along the way there will be setbacks and false starts and days that test our fundamental resolve as a nation."

His speech was almost exactly where Martin Luther King addressed a slightly smaller crowd in 1963 with his famous "I have a dream".

Mr Obama referred to both the civil rights leader and Abraham Lincoln - the president who triumphed in the American Civil War, reunited the country and abolished slavery.

He said: "Directly in front of us is a pool that still reflects the dream of a King, and the glory of a people who marched and bled so that their children might be judged by their character's content. And behind me, watching over the union he saved, sits the man who in so many ways made this day possible.

"Anything is possible in America. Despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead, I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure - that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time."

He sat down to watch the concert from behind a huge sheet of bullet-proof glass - highlighting fears that he is an assassination target - with his family, grinning and singing along to Springsteen.

While The Boss performed a thunderous version of The Rising, the future Commander-in-Chief seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. A sea of more than 400,000 people had flooded into Washington to hold an open-air party to celebrate Mr Obama's inauguration - and that was merely a taster of the bigger crowds expected tomorrow.

Barack and Michelle started swaying seriously when Sheryl Crow led the crowd in Bob Marley's classic One Love. Their daughters Malia and Sasha scampered beside the stage, taking photographs of the celebrities.

In between the hits were sombre readings, with Tom Hanks quoting from the Gettysburg address, Samuel L Jackson quoting anti-segregation heroine Rosa Parks, and Jack Black describing President Roosevelt's love for nature.

Golfer Tiger Woods, normally silent on politics, gave a two-minute speech paying tribute to the military - including his father's Vietnam service with US Special Forces. He said: "I am the son of a man who dedicated his life to his country, family and the military, and I'm a better person for it."

Garth Brooks belted out Don McLean's American Pie and veteran folk singer Pete Seeger got everyone including the president-elect singing Woody Guthrie's anthem This Land is Your Land.

But the largest cheers were reserved for every time the big screens showed a close-up of Mr Obama.

U2 brought the house down with Pride (In the Name of Love), their tribute to Martin Luther King.

Bono declared that Obama's election was an American and Irish dream as well as "a European dream, an African dream, an Israeli dream". After a pause, he added, to cheers: "And also a Palestinian dream."

Despite Bono, it all rattled along at a pace that put the long-winded Oscars to shame - and showed how in tune Mr Obama is to the MTV generation.

There were a dozen parties being held in Washington last night - including the Declare Yourself bash where Jamie Foxx performed an "O Bama" rap. But, despite the pleas from A-list hosts, Mr Obama went home with his family.

After such a concert, it is hard to see how tomorrow's inauguration could hit greater heights. But, where Mr Obama is concerned, anything seems possible.

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