Washington is rolling into high gear with less than one week left before Barack Obama is sworn in as the United States' first-ever African-American president.

Tickets for the historic Jan. 20 event have been distributed, the day's agenda has been rolled out and security has been deployed.

An estimated 4 million people are expected to swarm into Washington in the days leading to the inauguration because of Obama's record-setting election and the massive grassroots vote he motivated during the campaign.

"One of our biggest challenges is to really harness enthusiasm we have seen from people here in Washington D.C. and throughout the country to participate this historical occasion," said Natalie Wyeth, a spokeswoman for the 2009 presidential inauguration committee, where more than 400 staffers work around the clock now.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. He speaks to the media during a news conference at his transition office in Washington Jan.7, 2009
Apart from official inaugural events, including the swearing-in ceremony, parade and balls, many other activities will be held to allow more people across the country to participate, Wyeth said.

Obama will join his Vice President Joe Biden on a celebratory train tour to Washington via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland, on Jan. 17.

An official opening ceremony of the presidential inauguration will be free to the public at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday. The event is a good opportunity for people who want to avoid heavy traffic on Jan. 20 to get involved, Wyeth said.

On the day before the inauguration, which is also Martin LutherKing Jr.Day, the Obamas will lead a community service movement in the capital as a way to highlight the spirit of giving back to people, she added.

To include as many people as possible in the events, Obama's team will employ the Internet and live web casts to broadcast the inauguration ceremony and balls to those that cannot come to Washington for the events.

Americans' high interest in witnessing the historical moment had made tickets to the various inauguration events difficult to obtain.

"I am pretty excited to be able to have tickets when thousands and thousands of people want to get them," said Todd Gillenwater, a lobbyist who lives in Washington.

Gillenwater told Xinhua that he had applied for the tickets when he lived in California since they might be easier to be approved in a state far from the capital.

"I did not vote for President-elect Obama, but I think it is such a historical moment for our country to have the first African-American president," he said. "I think there is just so much hope and expectation for what he can bring to this country and some of changes he can bring to this country."

The Senate on Wednesday approved a law banning the sale of tickets to the swearing-in ceremony. The coveted tickets are supposed to be provided free to the public by lawmakers.

The price of a ticket to the National Mall, which will be open so that the public can watch the inauguration on dozens of wide-screen TVs, has gone all the way from 25 U.S. dollars to about 1,000 dollars.

Hotel rooms have also become scarce across the capital and in the neighboring states of Virginia and Maryland. Hotels located along Pennsylvania Avenue, the traditional route of the inauguration parade, have been long booked.

"Pretty much since last inauguration, our rooms have been sold out," said Barbara Bahny David, spokeswoman for the historical Willard Hotel, which has seen inauguration parades pass by since Abraham Lincoln took office.

She said that the hotel has decided to prepare 12,000 eggs, 800pounds of cheese and 17,500 mini pastries to serve the increased number of guests for the inauguration.

The unprecedented interest in the Obama inauguration also has brought big transportation and security challenges to the capital.

Authorities said that nearly 10,000 police officers would be deployed in Washington on inauguration day, along with another 10,000 National Guard troops stationed in the city and suburban areas. Up to 100 roads have been ordered closed from the evening of Jan. 29 through the next day.

Spectators and reporters covering the swearing-in ceremony have been advised to arrive hours earlier because of security checks.

Source:Xinhua