Journalists, politicians and entertainers will gather Saturday night to eat, laugh and raise money at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

President Joe Biden will attend and speak at the event, which some have jokingly dubbed “nerd prom.” “Saturday Night Live” veteran Colin Jost will be the featured entertainer.

“Colin Jost knows how to make Saturday nights funny, and I am thrilled Colin will be live from the nation’s capital as the headline entertainer for this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” WHCA President Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News, who is hosting the event, said in a statement in February when the association announced Jost would be performing.

Compared to past comedians who have headlined the event, Jost can better relate to the journalists he's sure to tease. He began his career as a reporter and editor for the Staten Island Advance. 

The dinner begins at 8 p.m. Eastern at the Washington Hilton Hotel and will be televised on C-SPAN. ABC News Live, CNN and MSNBC are also airing coverage.

The event anchors a slew of parties, ceremonies, brunches and dinners in Washington, which started Wednesday and run into Sunday.

Aside from Jost and Biden, this year’s dinner guest list includes actors Rachel Brosnahan, Fran Drescher, Jon Hamm, Scarlett Johansson (who is married to Jost), Andrew McCarthy, Chris Pine, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Molly Ringwald and Hiro Sanada, as well as rapper Quavo. 

Among the political figures expected to attend are Vice President Kamala Harris; first lady Jill Biden; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.; Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. 

The annual WHCA dinner began in 1921. It raises money to support journalists who cover the president, provides scholarships for future reporters and educates the public about the value of a free press. 

“My hope is that we can use this night overall to remind people about why a free press is so vitally important, especially in a campaign year,” O’Donnell told Deadline. “I want the night to also reflect on members. I want them to see themselves in the evening. When we gather for these White House Correspondents’ dinners, there’s always a lot of fun, a lot of energy, all of those good things. I wanted to also feel like it’s about the story of the press corps and why our work matters.”

This year’s dinner comes against the backdrop of two wars — in the Gaza Strip and in Ukraine — and a wave of pro-Palestianian protests that have raged on college campuses across the U.S. 

O’Donnell said she believes it’s important, even during difficult times around the world, to “celebrate the fact that this work is important, and it’s necessary for democracy.”

Every president since Calvin Coolidge in 1924 has attended at least one WHCA dinner while in office with the exception of Donald Trump, who has called the mainstream press “the enemy of the people.” Biden has attended the event every year of his presidency except for 2021, when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.