Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets of Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, Jan. 18, for the Women’s March LA 2020, aimed at supporting women’s rights, encouraging more females to run for office and boosting voter turnout in the next election.

Update: Women’s March kicks into gear in Southern California

The fourth annual L.A. event will likely once again be among the largest of more than 100 marches planned across the country that day, in a movement that’s taken place each January since President Donald Trump was sworn into office in 2017.

An estimated 250,000 people gathered in front of City Hall at the conclusion of the Women’s March LA 2018 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

In this Jan. 20, 2018 file photo, actress Viola Davis speaks at a Women’s March against sexual violence in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

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An estimated 250,000 people march to Grand Park for the Women’s March LA in 2018 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Laura Cook pushes her mother Elizabeth Pula in a wheelchair during the Women’s March LA 2018. (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Actress Scarlett Johansson, right, speaks as Mila Kunis holds a microphone for her at a Women’s March against sexual violence and the policies of the Trump administration Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)



An estimated 250,000 people gathered at Pershing Square and marched to Grand Park for the Women’s March LA 2018 on Jan. 20, 2018. (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Thousands gather in downtown Los Angeles for the Women’s March on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2017. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

An estimated 250,000 people gathered at Pershing Square and marched to Grand Park for the Women’s March LA 2018. (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Looking down from the top of City Hall. An estimated 250,000 people gathered at Pershing Square and marched to Grand Park for the Women’s March in Los Angeles on Jan. 20, 2018. (Photo by John McCoy, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A sea of signs held by women and men filled the park at City Hall for the third annual Women’s March LA in Los Angeles on Saturday, January. 19, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)



Long Beach City Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez joined demonstrators early today in Long Beach, headed for the Women’s March in Los Angeles. (Photo by Hunter Lee, SCNG)

Marisa Tomei speaking to the crowd at City Hall for the third annual Women’s March LA in Los Angeles on Saturday, January. 19, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Energetic women and men filled the park in front of the main stage at City Hall for the third annual Women’s March LA in Los Angeles on Saturday, January. 19, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Roads between Pershing Square and Los Angeles City Hall will be closed throughout the day.

The half-mile march starts with a rally at 9 a.m. at Pershing Square, at 532 S. Olive St. At 10 a.m., demonstrators will begin marching northeast five blocks to City Hall, at 200 N. Spring St. There, risers will be set up and speakers and performances are scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Celebrities and elected officials are expected to take the stage as in years past, though organizers with the nonprofit, volunteer-led event hadn’t released any names as of Tuesday.

Spring Street, Broadway and Hill Street will be closed starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday between 1st Street and Temple Street, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. At 7:30 a.m., the full route closure takes effect, with Spring Street, Broadway, Hill Street, and Olive Street closed from Temple Street to 6th Street. East-west cross streets along the route will also be closed, including Temple, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th streets. All of those roads will remain closed until 4 p.m.

Nearby parking is limited, so participants are encouraged to have rideshare services drop them off near the corner of 7th and Olive streets or to take public transportation. Metrolink is adding extra trains Saturday to its Antelope Valley, San Bernardino and Ventura County lines in anticipation of the crowds. A day pass for the train is $10, with a full schedule and more details at metrolinktrains.com/womensmarch.

There will also be road closures in Chinatown on Saturday for the concurrently planned Walk for Life, an antiabortion demonstration put on since 2015 by the faith-based group OneLife LA.

The Walk for Life event starts with a youth rally in the plaza at Olvera Street at 11 a.m. Demonstrators will march from the plaza starting at 11:30 a.m. and move north on Main Street, west on Cesar Chavez Avenue, north on Broadway, east on Alpine Street and north on Alameda Street, finishing at Los Angeles State Historic Park on Spring Street. A festival will take place at the park from 2 p.m.-4 p.m., with other programs scheduled nearby into the evening.

Other Women’s March events Saturday in Los Angeles County include a Burbank march from 10 a.m. to noon along the Chandler Bike Path, another Downtown L.A. rally from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in MacArthur Park, and a march at 11 a.m. in the Catalina Island town of Avalon.

Since the inaugural Women’s March drew as many as 750,000 people to the streets of Downtown L.A. in 2017, it has shrunk a bit in size but has turned into a weekend-long event.

Multiple organizations, including YMCA of LA and Atheists United, are meeting Friday evening or early Saturday morning to make signs and gear up for the march. There are also a number of Women’s March after-parties planned, including LGBTQ event organizers Rainbow Social bringing comedians and bands to The Down and Out bar that afternoon and a “Babes Club” party at the Little Easy speakeasy that night.

The Southern California News Group will be covering marches throughout the Southland on Saturday. Watch our websites for updates.