Faster than a rock star concert, as many as 5,000 tickets to bleacher seats for Obama's presidential inauguration parade on January 20 were sold out in less than a minute of being put on sale.
Interestingly, within a few hours, these tickets were put on resale on websites like craigslist and e-bay at a much
higher premium. Being sold on a first-cum-first-serve basis, as decided by the Presidential Inauguration Committee, these tickets at US $ 25-a-piece were sold through Ticketmaster on Friday.
A spokesman of Ticketmaster told the local media that all the 5,000 tickets were gone in a minute. Given the charisma associated with Obama and that for the first time a non-white is being sworn in as the president of the United States, the January 20th inauguration is expected to be the most attended presidential inauguration in recent history.
More than 1.5 million people are expected to attend the historic occasion. Tickets were limited to four per person for purchase. Tickets are not required to view the parade, but the purchase of tickets will guarantee spectators a seated spot along the parade route.
The Washington Times said a notice posted to the ticket announcement on the inaugural committees Web site said,
"Update: All parade tickets sold out."
"We are very pleased to make these tickets available to the public as part of our commitment to holding the most
open and accessible inauguration in history," the executive director of the inaugural committee, Emmett S Beliveau, said in a statement.