Press Releases

Thank you for contacting our office regarding tickets to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009. This will be a historic event, and we encourage you to attend. At this point, our office has received many times more the amount of Inaugural ticket requests than the number of tickets our office will receive. For that reason, and I am very sorry to say, we have stopped accepting requests for tickets. If you have already requested tickets prior to January 6, 2009 you will receive notification on the status of your request in the coming days.

Even so, we do not want to discourage you from attending this historic event. Just because we are unable to provide you with tickets to the Inauguration does not mean you cannot be a part of this momentous day. The Inauguration will take place on the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building, and viewers will be gathered along the Capitol lawn and the National Mall. Only part of the National Mall is designated as a ticketed area, so those without tickets may still view the ceremony from other locations. Furthermore, JumboTron TV's, many more than have ever been used in previous inaugurations, will line the National Mall so that everyone can be sure to see the ceremony. 

There are expected to be record-size crowds in Washington, D.C. during the Inauguration, so the most important thing is to plan ahead for housing and transportation. Most hotels are already booked and very expensive, so we encourage you to find accommodations as soon as possible. Also, traffic will be extremely heavy, but Washington D.C.'s public transportation system of buses and underground metros make getting around the city possible. However, be prepared that these public transportation systems will be overwhelmed with visitors as well. This inauguration ceremony is expected to draw the largest crowds in history so plan on using patience while here. Some metro stations farther away from the city have parking garages if you would like to leave your car there for the day and commute in. For more information about Washington, D.C.'s public transportation system, you can visit http://www.wmata.com/. 

Also, for information about other Inaugural events and Inaugural balls, you can visit http://www.presidential-inauguration.com/. Understand that many of the balls and activities require you to apply and get tickets directly from President-Elect Obama's Inaugural Committee and we will not be able to assist with those. The website in this paragraph should direct you regarding those events. 

The parade from the Capitol to the White House winding through downtown has some places that require tickets. But, most of the areas do not. I know you understand the historical nature of this event, so please understand that if you choose to journey to Washington, whether you have a good vantage or not, you will always be able to say you were here.

This will be a historic occasion, and we hope that you will be able to participate in these unforgettable events.