5 Things: The Obama Inauguration

 The 56th inauguration of the American president is in many ways no different than its predecessors, but in others, this is no ordinary swearing-in ceremony. Yet, on January 20, 2009, 145 years -- almost to the day -- after President Lincoln issued the second of two executive orders constituting the Emancipation Proclamation, and 143 years after ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, he will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, taking the oath on the very same Bible used to swear in Abraham Lincoln.

Tickets go for $40,000

Actually, every one of the 250,000 or so tickets to the Inauguration Day are given to members of Congress, who then distribute them -- free of charge -- to their constituency on request. Yet, the excitement surrounding this inauguration has made them the hottest ticket in the land of the (free) market economy; thus, opportunists, including professional ticket agencies, went to work almost the moment news outlets declared the winner. They began advertising, and prices reached as high as $40,000 for tickets they neither had in hand nor knew with any certainty theywould have, since the tickets won’t be released until about a week before the inauguration.

Umbrellas are banned

As you might imagine, the level of security at this inauguration will be unprecedented. The actual swearing-in ceremony takes place on the west front lawn of the U.S. Capitol and requires one of those much sought-after tickets to attend. At this time of year in D.C., it’s not uncommon for the temperature to hover in the high 30s; despite this, among the dozens of items prohibited by security are umbrellas, so although there is no official dress code, attendees are urged to bundle up and even bring a poncho.

Phone calls are frowned upon

With so many cell phones expected to be crammed into one place, wireless companies are worried about massive bandwidth gridlock. They have been building added cell sites in the D.C. area, but believing this won’t be enough to prevent delays, congestion and dropped calls, they are encouraging their customers to stick with text messages, since they require less bandwidth.  

Up to 5 million will attend

Nobody can say with any accuracy just how many will be in Washington, D.C. on January 20, but the estimates are staggering, with some officials anticipating there being as many as 5 million people. Compare this to the District’s residentpopulation of just under 600,000, a figure which, thanks to commuters, rises to around a million during the work week. Furthermore, the population of the entire Washington Metropolitan Area -- the 8th largest in the country, which includes D.C. and numerous counties in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia -- is around 5.3 million.

The Inaugural Ball will be webcast

That night, the Obamas will attend all 10 of the official inaugural balls, and in a break with tradition, the first one will not only likely be free (although tickets will be required), but it will also be webcast. The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, taking place at the Washington Convention Center, is the first of its kind in history, meant to give more people greater access to the new President and the celebration of his inauguration.