Four Million May Crowd National Mall For Obama Inauguration

District and federal officials are preparing for as many as 4 million people for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, a crowd that would be three or four times larger than previous big events on the Mall.

Only a fraction of those people will be close enough to get a good look at the action. But officials are planning extra JumboTrons at the Mall and along the inaugural parade route so that spectators can feel a part of the historic day.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Hirnlego]

"Together, as one world, yes we can"

That will cause panic to the Alex Jones crowd..

[badfluffy]

I wrote a letter to my congressman, and as of a couple days ago, his staffers replied that the inaugural committee hasn't even been formed but that I am on the list. I doubt I will get one, but hey, I offered to shovel his sidewalk for the winter, so heres hoping

[roshni]

I hope security is really tight.

[tbone99]

Can anyone go ? or do you have to have this ticket I keep hearing about?

[tangelan]

You have to request tickets from your congressman or state representative. They should have links on their websites and it's supposed to be first come , first serve. That's only if you want seats. You can still attend the events behind the seated areas. It's important not to buy from ticket brokers. Tickets are free and aren't available until January.

[chewie2008]

I`d love to fly over and watch this,but hey.....At least I saw him over here in Berlin.I`ll have a nice cup of coffee and chill on the couch.

[BabsfromKansas]

I may do the same and I only live 15 blocks from the Capitol!

[JimLarkin]

i'd like to go, but i cant. i dont know anyone thats going either... i'm sure they'd like to go also. going would be the best part. coming back home wouldnt be bad either. i'd probably get lost a lot if i went, but i'm not, so i wont. so staying here is most likely the best thing i can do unless i find a way around doing that. people i know that arent going would probably get lost a lot. also.. even with a map... if they went, but they're not and neither am i.

[CintiBlue]

I'll be there in spirit and pride!

Obama/Biden/OH HAPPY DAY

[roshni]

Me too - I'll be watching on the large screen T.V. with a bottle of champagne.

[lissak]

There aren't enough Porta Potties to hand that crowd.

[XME]

I thought about going since I'm just a couple hours away...but it will be such a mess that I'd just assume stay home in the warmth and watch on TV. No doubt if I went, I'd be so far away I'd see absolutely nothing. At least I got to attend one of his rallies in Roanoke last month, and had a GREAT view.

[novatom]

I live in the DC area but am seriously rethinking of going down to the mall that day. DC has enough trouble handling a half a million, let alone 4 million. I don't see how they are going to deal with it. The metro will be overwhelmed.

[BarackstarObama]

4 million people! Wow! The largest inauguration crowd I've heard was 1.2 million for LBJ.

[4wehttam]

My entire family is driving up together. I don't care how far we are from the action, just being part of it is enough for us.

[EllaBee]

Okay, I don't the first thing about camping out, but I think I may have to try it on 1/20/09

[BJBirdie]

Can someone who knows more about the Mall than I do tell me where the back of that crowd would be? Arlington, VA?

[UncommonSenz]

No, it won't be Arlington.

Here is a map of the mall:
http://www.washington-landmarks.com/map_national_mall.html

The Capitol is on the far right of the map (not actually shown, but just off the screen)

The mall is the green expanse that goes from the Capitol on the right, all the way across the map, ending with the reflecting pool and the Lincoln memorial on the left. Tickets will get you into that first green rectangle on the right- that will be about 240,000 people.

What they are talking about is opening up the remaining green chunks (which is just lawn) all they way back to the Lincoln memorial.

Keep in mind, you can do the speech or the parade, but you wouldn't be able to do both (because you will have to stake out a spot on the mall or along the route)

[XME]

A visual might help: http://www.nps.gov/PWR/state/DC/upload/NPS-Map-Washington-DC.pdf

[blondieboop]

The Lincoln Memorial. Years ago I was in a crowd of about 500,00. It stretched from the Capitol to 14th St. 4 million people on the Mall will be a cozy crowd.

[cobobs]

There will be so many people, it will change the weather!

[NationalTreasure]

+cobobs

change the weather?

what an idiotic comment

[roshni]

That did happen at one of Obama's last rallies. We were in Chester, PA, in the freezing rain, but 9000 people showed up and it wasn;t so cold any more.