Highest Viewing Ever in Washington for Obama

DC has never been so full. The city is closed for traffic, nobody besides hotels and restaurants will work for two days.

Not even the announced snow or freezing temperatures will stop millions of people coming from all over the USA, in order to attend the 56th inauguration of an American president. That inauguration will be specific and different from previous ones in many ways.

Barack Obama, the 44th chosen president, will be sworn in on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. The media have announced that day as the start of a new American history, and it is expected that between two and three million people will gather in front of Congress on Capitol Hill.

240 thousand entry tickets grabbed on first day

The whole event will be held in a part of Washington called National Mall. That great park that stretches three kilometres from Lincoln’s monument over to the Washington monument to Capitol Hill, surrounded by national museums, will receive 350,000 people that will watch the program on 20 large television screens placed in various place. Besides them, another 240,000 people with tickets, that were literally all grabbed in the first day, will be able to approach the west side of the of the U.S. Capitol where Obama will take his presidential oath.

Due to security and checks, entrance for guests will be open at 8am, and the introductory program of the inauguration will start at 10am, with the main event starting at 11:30am. The impressive number of 1,800 police officers, 1,000 FBI agents, and 10,000 members of the national guard will make sure that everything passes in order and that there are no incidents. Foreign diplomats have been specially called to witness the event with their spouses. Croatia will be represented by ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

Hotels full, schools across Washington closed

Even though the capital has had many historical moments, this is the largest number of people that the city has ever seen.

All of the cities roads around the scene of the event will be closed due to security. The city authorities have announced special warnings, bans and instructions on that day. They ask the visitors to be patient and that they should adapt to the situation and possible changes. They are advised to turn up at their desired location from which they want to view the event on time, to wear warm and comfortable clothing, and to bring water and some food. Strictly prohibited are: backpacks, prams, glass bottles, any sort of weapons or toys with a similar shape, thermo-bottles, umbrellas, posters, animals, alcoholic drinks…

There will be 5,000 mobile toilets, but that is only one for every 300 people. Shirts, hats, scarves, badges, glasses, postcards and posters of Obama, and his wife Michelle, as well as their two daughters Malie and Sasha, are only some of the souvenirs that have literally flooded the stores and stands in the centre of DC. Today and tomorrow, nobody will work in Washington, the schools are closed, as well as most stores. The hotels are full, and because you have to book for most restaurants, all of them are overbooked.

Shakira, Beyonce and Springsteen sang for Obama

The celebrations started in the city yesterday, and Sarah Jessica Parker, Shakira, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen are only some of the stars that have come to witness and sing for the new president. Ceremonial dinners have been organized in ten places in the city in order to honour the new president, which he will visit during the inauguration night.

That day is the official beginning of president Obama’s mandate, with which he becomes the duty of the head of the country, head of the cabinet, head of the federal executive government, and commander in chief of the US Army. Since Saturday, Obama has been travelling with his train via a number of American cities towards Washington, and he held speeches for tens of thousands of people that gathered a -10 degrees Celsius. His words and hope that he gives to every average American are suitable for an American president.

Many have asked if the most popular American president will turn his words into actions

The serious situation in the American economy that no longer warns of a recession but is being called a depression, announces the hardships that president Obama and his administration will have to face from the beginning.

The capital city of American politics, Washington DC, will for the next four years be the home to president Obama, his family, politics and administrative associates. The Whitehouse and Senate will be the place for new decisions in American as well as world politics and economics.

Surveys show that Obama has the support of 74 percent of Americans, and his popularity grows every second. Many Americans say that this event shows that America is united again. In the following months, it will be seen how many words from the pre-election campaign will be turned into action by the president, or will only be remembers as one of the best rhetorical speakers in the history of the USA.