Citizens hoping to attend the Inaugural Parade or one of two Official Inaugural Balls by buying tickets today will be surprised to find the tickets have all sold out, due to an accidental pre-release of the tickets last night.
Prospective attendees had to join the Presidential Inauguration Committee's (PIC) email list in order to get more information on when to purchase the tickets, because no information was posted on the Web site. This list of people received an email from Julianna Smoot, co-chair of the PIC, yesterday (Sunday) at about 3:30pm EST, which said to stay on the lookout for tickets today, January 7:
But, at 7:30pm EST on Sunday, access and pin codes to Ticketmaster's Inaugural ticketing page were sent, enabling prospective attendees to purchase the tickets at least five hours ahead of what is technically Monday.
[Click to Enlarge]
In spite of the warped start time, tickets sold out in minutes, leaving unlucky hopefuls stuck with no option but to try to get tickets from third party sellers, like this seller from Alexandria selling a set of two parade and two Inaugural Ball tickets for $4,000 on Craigslist.
Tip: Some congressional offices have extra swearing-in, ball, and parade tickets. Try to contact your congressman or senator's DC office if you are still looking for tickets!
Many of the people shut out of the ticket sales vented on the PIC's Facebook Page, underneath their new cover photo. Some suggested the PIC host a third Inaugural Ball (one is exclusive to military families), and some complained about "timing out" errors on Ticketmaster.
Ticketmaster is taking full responsibility of the blunder, but is offering no solutions other than saying it was "first come, first serve" with no tickets guaranteed to anyone. Perhaps that is the case (and no exact sale time was ever offered), but there are still many people wondering why they'll never get a chance to buy today, the scheduled day to buy tickets.
Related: [Bars Open Until 4am During Inauguration Week! Eight Days Of Late Night Parties!]
Update [12:22 pm]: Ticketmaster will have further information on sales "later." Members of the public can call (877) 356-8495 if they have questions. No one has announced that tickets are sold out, but a rep from PIC was unable to confirm whether or not more tickets are available.
Update [12:45 pm]: A member of the PIC committee told the Washington Post that "a significant number actually means all of them," referring to the below apology email sent by Ticketmaster:
[Top photo via]
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Najeema
January 7, 2013
5:11pm
Yeah, uh...dropped the ball.
Gunny G
January 7, 2013
5:17pm
What a pants load. Just last week they were saying that hotels in DC were half-empty, way down from 2008. No one wants to see the tyrant yap about himself.
oldandgrey
January 7, 2013
6:07pm
Why is their a charge for the inaugural parade, isn't mr obama an employee of the American tax payer ? A tax payer wants to know.
momsaid
January 7, 2013
6:10pm
@Gunny G: Remember when Jim Wright published a book back in the 80s, and bulk sales, aka campaign donations followed? Wonder who bought 'em...and how many folks will actually show up for the party? PS: They don't accept ObamaPhones as payment.
January 7, 2013
6:14pm
Who cares. Seriously. I'll be at work anyhow (you know, working, not waiting for a government hand out).
concorde
January 7, 2013
6:16pm
I am one who received the three emails yesterday. The thing that really bothers me is that they did it during the games, when most people were glued to the TV set. Then to turn around at 12:00am and say that it was a test, but all of the tickets had been sold!!!!!!. PIC did the same thing 4 years ago when they announced the Public Ball, then there were no tickets. Tickets were limited to (2) for the ball and (4) for the parade, but the scaplers got their hands on them first. I think the old thinng should be investigated.
privatouring
January 7, 2013
6:33pm
Uh...Gunny, what's your problem. He had a concussion....and a blood clot. And his staff was distracted by an anti-Islamic film. And, the news release wasn't quite ready for the shovel. We were looking for more cash, but our spin was getting to be a real clunker. And it's always hard to run across the tarmac with a flak jacket and sniper fire coming at you from all sides, and being dizzy from corkscrewing into Hawai'i. Besides you're a racist with your Bible and your guns and you don't look like my son. And you behaved stupidly like the police in Cambridge. Hope and Change! Revenge and Spread it around! Obama - 2016 Obama Forever! 5000 weeks of Unemployment! Tax the Rich! Gimme - Gimme - Gimme!
Derp
January 7, 2013
6:46pm
If you believe this, you probably voted for the idiot.
thetoysurgeon
January 7, 2013
6:54pm
The Muslim Brotherhood got first dibs and bought them all up.
DitchThisGuy
January 7, 2013
7:00pm
I wonder how much it cost the taxpayers for the Obamas to buy all the tickets themselves.
BCM4LYFE
January 7, 2013
7:25pm
Sophie, will you go to the ball with me?
January 7, 2013
7:32pm
Why are we celebrating? Four more years under President Zero's "leadership" will hurt our free country.
January 7, 2013
7:34pm
Who in their right mind would want to be there with the cast of jackasses gone wild?
January 7, 2013
7:38pm
Endless MSM lies, yet another violation of our rights. The gov’t constantly violates our rights. They violate the 1st Amendment by caging protesters and banning books like “America Deceived II”. They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by allowing TSA to grope you. They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars. Impeach Obama. Last link of “America Deceived II” before it is completely banned: [www.amazon.com]
JustAGuy
January 7, 2013
7:54pm
Guaranteed: The labor unions and other leftist groups bought up all the tickets There will be a bunch of union thugs attending the inaguration!
AFSGTSAM
January 7, 2013
8:21pm
You can still get Ball tickets at your local food stamp office register for both at the same time.
Rosemarazzle
January 7, 2013
8:46pm
@concorde: who will investigate? Eric Holder?
LBTRS
January 7, 2013
9:21pm
So I have to pay to attend the inaugural parade of an elected official who gets paid with my tax dollars on public streets that are maintained with my tax dollars? Are we going to start charging a "election fee" when you enter the ballot box to vote?
borrow
January 8, 2013
12:18am
He's got big balls She's got big balls But we've got the biggest balls of them all!
January 8, 2013
1:12am
I wouldn't go to Obama's re-crowning ceremony if he sent Air Force One to pick me up. I have NO respect for a man who is destroying our country and desecrating the sacrifice of our soldiers.
January 9, 2013
8:28am
Should have used Event Farm.