Aside from bringing millions of visitors to the District, the inauguration will also bring with it several days of events throughout the District. Many official inaugural events sponsored by the Presidential Inaugural Committee require a ticket to attend, while some are open to the general public. More ticketing information can be found on the Presidential Inaugural Committee Web site at www.pic2009.org.

Sunday, January 18

Welcoming at Lincoln Memorial: President-elect Barack Obama will appear at a welcome event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This event is free and open to the public, but a specific time has not yet been announced.

Monday, January 19

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Community Service: To honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will participate in community service activities around the District. Specific details about the location and nature of the community service activities have not yet been released, but these events will not require tickets to attend.

Inauguration Eve Youth Concert: Both Obama and Biden will attend a youth concert at the Verizon Center. Tickets to the event are free, but details on how to obtain tickets have not yet been released.

Tuesday, January 20

Swearing-in Ceremony
The most coveted of the Inauguration Day tickets is for the swearing-in ceremony at 10 a.m.

The swearing-in ceremony will include:

• Music from the United States Marine Band, the San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus
• Call to order and welcoming remarks from Sen. Dianne Feinstein
• Invocation from Dr. Rick Warren
• Musical from Aretha Franklin
• The swearing-in of Vice President-elect Joe Biden by John Paul Stevens, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Music from composer and arranger John Williams with Itzhak Perlman on violin, Yo-Yo Ma on cello, Gabriela Montero on piano and Anthony McGill on clarinet
• Obama will take the oath of office using Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural bible, administered by John Roberts, chief justice of the United States
• Inaugural address
• Poem from Elizabeth Alexander (daughter of GW professor)
• Benediction from the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
• The national anthem, performed by the United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”

For a prime spot at the main event, tickets are necessary. All wishing to attend were supposed to apply for tickets through their representative’s or senators’ office and subsequently added to a waitlist. Those receiving tickets will be notified in January.

Due to a high demand for tickets, some representatives and senators have stopped taking ticket requests.

Even without a ticket, there is a chance to see Obama take the oath of office on the Mall. Large television screens will be placed on the National Mall for everyone to witness the ceremony.

Inaugural Parade

The inaugural parade follows the swearing-in at 2:30 p.m., traveling down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.

A ticket is not needed to watch the parade, but students should be advised that more than 2 million people are expected to travel to D.C. for the inauguration and that arriving early to get a good viewing spot is advised. Visitors may begin lining up along the parade route after 7 a.m.

Bleachers will be set up at several points along the parade route for easier viewing. Tickets are required to sit in the bleachers and can be requested through the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Inaugural Balls

On the night of Jan. 20, the Presidential Inaugural Committee will host 10 official inaugural balls, and many other privately hosted balls will take place around the city beginning Jan. 15. All of the balls require tickets.

Obtaining a ticket to a ball hosted by the PIC is almost impossible for the general public. These tickets are reserved for donors to the campaigns and high-ranking campaign staffers and volunteers, but other, more accessible balls will be held by organizations ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the American Indian Society. Tickets are available through the individual organizations and average about $200.

The GW Inaugural Ball at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Adams Morgan is among the unofficial balls held on Jan. 20, but the 5,200 tickets, which were made available to all members of the GW community, are sold out.

Wednesday, January 21

Inaugural Prayer Service

The newly inaugurated president and vice president will participate in a prayer service at the National Cathedral. More information to be released.

Emily Cahn