Obamathon: Welcome to the Rs 728-cr party

With the president-elect's inaugural train riding into Washington for the most expensive inauguration in US history, MiD DAY peeks behind the scenes

Obamathon: Welcome to the Rs 728-cr party

With the president-elect's inaugural train riding into Washington for the most expensive inauguration in US history, MiD DAY peeks behind the scenes

With a $150 million (Rs 728 crore) price tag, Barack Obama's inauguration gala is expected to break records.

Obama's inaugural committee has raised more than $41 million (Rs 199 crore) to cover events ranging from the train ride to Washington and a megastar concert to 10 inaugural balls.

While they struck TV deals to recoup about $5 million (Rs 24 crore) of the $15 million (Rs 73 crore) production costs for the televised events, certain prime seats to the inauguration were also sold.

For $10,000 (Rs 48,000), guests can secure a seat with a view of the swearing-in, two tickets to a dinner after the inauguration with a major figure from the new administration, and two tickets to one of the 10 official inaugural balls.

For $52,000 (Rs 25 lakh ), you get two tickets near the VIP area, tickets to at least four parties and one of the balls where you will have your photograph taken with Obama.

Top donors

It was also revealed yesterday that Wall Street donated more money than any other US industry to the festivities.

The Centre for Responsive Politics said executives of finance, insurance and real estate companies and their family members gave $7.1 million (Rs 34 crore) to the inaugural committee.

They were followed by lawyers gave $2.5 million (Rs 12 crore) and donors from the entertainment industry such as Halle Berry, Samuel Jackson, Sharon Stone and Steven Spielberg who gave $1.7 million (Rs 8 crore).

Transparency

Obama had pledged transparency in his inauguration fundraising. He disclosed donors as the fundraising continued, though he is not required to do so until after the ceremony.

Star studded
Dozens of celebrities will perform at the various inaugural festivities, starting with a star-studded free concert on Sunday evening.
Stars including Beyonce, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Mary J Blige, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, will.i.am and Stevie Wonder, among others are expected to perform at the concert at the Lincoln Memorial.
In addition, Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington will take the stage to deliver historical readings.

At the swearing in
There will be plenty of celebrity sightings at the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday as well. Tony and Cherie Blair are said to have accepted seats in the VIP seating section, alongside French President Nicolas Sarkozy and wife Carla Bruni.
From the world of showbusiness Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, George Clooney, Sharon Stone, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Halle Berry have all secured seats in a VIP area.
Madonna was last night said to be frantically trying to purchase a seat.
Almost all these stars are also expected to grace the various inaugural balls.

Security
Here's what is being done to handle the 2 million people expected to descend on Washington tomorrow...
> 6 months of planning and 1 month of testing security responses to scenariosu00a0
> The city's 4,100 police will be joined by 7,500 soldiers and 35,000 other law-enforcement officers
> Unmanned drones will monitor the event from the air, sending images to a secret command centre. About 5,265 surveillance cameras have been spread around the city
> Airspace restrictions have been imposed in Washington during the pre-inaugural activities and the inauguration
> The US Army will have a brigade ready to respond to a chemical and biological attack
> The 16 US intelligence agencies are providing a stream of information on overseas terrorist groups
> In all, u00c2u00a310million has been set aside to cover the cost of security

On Saturday
The festivities began on Saturday in Philadelphia with a speech. Obama then boarded the inaugural train, retracing the route taken by his idol Abraham Lincoln in 1861. He was accompanied by his family, some friends and advisers, the media and 41 Americans selected to represent the public.

The 10-car train, the length of 2.5 football fields, made a 220-km journey with four stops, including one in Delaware to pick up Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his family.

The trip drew huge cheering crowds who braved freezing weather. Law enforcement officers from 40 jurisdictions provided protection from the ground while the US Coast Guard was stationed on waterways along the route. Flight restrictions were imposed too.u00a0

On Sunday
The inaugural train rolled into Baltimore yesterday. Obama and Biden then drove to the city's War Memorial, where a crowd of as many as 40,000 turned out to hear Obama speak. The president-elect asked Americans to commit to a "new declaration of independence" from "bigotry and prejudice" at a time of "vast" challenges.
The true celebration in Washington began last evening (local time) with a concert at the Lincoln Memorial (See Star studded).

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