The congressional officials organizing next week’s presidential inaugural expects 2 million people to witness Barack Obama’s inauguration as the first African-Amercian U.S. president.
Dianne Feinstein, congressional committee chair, stated that she’s hoping to see a silent and smooth-sailing event. “Hopefully, people will be of good temper and willing to go through the lines it will take,” Feinstein said. ”Because they are going to have to go through magnetometers and they are going to be wanded. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the time.”
Weather forecasts show that there will be a high temperature on Inauguration day–30 degrees Fahrenheit.
Feinstein also warned that people will have to walk long distances for them to arrive at the actual event. And for this, she recommended that people should plan to start early as possible.
“Most people will be standing for a substantial period of time, and be sure you can do it,” she said. “People have to be prepared to handle very cold weather, especially if the wind comes up.”
“Be very careful if you’re planning to bring your children, cause it’s not going to be easy,” she said, speaking as a mother and grandmother.
If there will be an opposite turn-out of events such as the overpowering tempreture, Feinstein has a contingency of moving the event inside the Capitol.
“But in view of the large number of people, there’s a strong intent to do this outside,” Howard Gantman, Feinstein’s committee staff, said.
Feinstein spilled the following additions for the upcoming inauguration.
1. Twenty plus construction workers will work with 22,000 sheets of plywood for the dramatic inaugural platform on the West Front of the Capitol where Obama will take the oath of office.
2. 24 big paneled televisions will be place along the Mall for others to view the actual swearing-in.aOnly 240,000 people will get official inaugural tickets, and most of them will have to stand. And 28,000 seats are the only available ones on the Capitol grounds.
3. Five thousand portable bathrooms will be set up for ticketed guests on the Capitol grounds.
4. The platform, fencing, and rent of chairs will amount to $3.5 million according to Stephan Ayers, the acting architect of the Capitol.
5. A variety of visitors have already seen the website of the event with most prompts on the page that features the menu for the inaugural luncheon in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
