Tickets for GW’s Jan. 21 inaugural ball will go on sale on Election Day.
The University will put all 5,500 tickets for the ball up for sale Nov. 6, University spokeswoman Candace Smith said. The figure represents 1,500 more tickets than GW offered on the first day of ticket sales for the 2009 ball. Those tickets sold out within 24 hours.
Students, staff, faculty and alumni can purchase tickets online and at the Marvin Center when polls open at 7 a.m. Leftover tickets will be sold through the Lisner Auditorium box office.
Smith declined to comment on ticket prices, saying said “more information will be forthcoming.”
Tickets sold for $75 in 2004 and $85 in 2008, with steeper prices after election day.
More than 1,000 individuals filled a waitlist in 2008, prompting GW to release 1,200 tickets two weeks after selling an initial 4,000 tickets on Election Day. The 2008 ball – the fifth in University history – was also GW’s largest.
The ball will again be held at the swanky Omni Shoreham Hotel. Its seven ballrooms, all reserved by GW, can accommodate up to 5,500 people.
GW is selling 300 more tickets than it did in 2008, when it rented the same amount of space. Smith added that GW would also “reserve some tickets for staff working the event.”
Smith declined to comment on the ballroom rental costs, but said the University plans to make up for the costs through ticket sales.
Four years ago, the University dropped $575,000 to host the luxurious event, including rental costs, security and free transportation to the hotel.
GW’s ball was one of 60 held throughout D.C. as the city welcomed the 44th president. The event featured live bands, GW performers and an array of hors d’oeuvres and desserts.
Nearly 75 percent of tickets sold in 2008 went to students, but 20 ambassadors were also in attendance, alongside several local and national politicians.
Smith said the University has not been approached about participating in the Inaugural Parade, a 1.5-mile procession of floats, marching bands, citizens groups and military regiments.
The president’s inaugural committee, which does not start up until after the election, selects participants based on individual applications. During the 2008 parade, the University showcased a 46-foot-long, two-trailer float with a physical representation of each school. The inaugural committee approved the $85,000 float that about 50 students helped build.
Good luck getting the Kool-Aid drinking Obama fan students to attend when he LOSES.
Well Billy you fool, we are getting ready to watch him on our tv for another 4 years. CLOWN take several seats
Be sure you’re ready!!
Is a long-form birth certificate required to attend?
You know, President Obama and Governor Romney are both lying manipulative narcissistic despicable people. But that said, at least Obama actually lets us know what he vaguely wants to do. Yeah, it’s full of half-truths and I don’t completely agree with it. But the former governor won’t give a single plausible policy prescription, and when he attempts to, they’re flat out lies. Bottom line, they’re both awful. Almost makes one miss Senators McCain, Kerry, Dole, and Presidents Clinton and (yes) even Bush!
The point I was trying to say, though, was that attending an inaugural ball in honor of the President of the United States of America is a once in a lifetime experience I wouldn’t miss for anything, whether the victor is a half-liar whose policies have half-worked, or a blatant liar who has no respect for the American people evidenced by his sleazy imitation of a a disingenuous conman.
Inaugural paintball?
If you didn’t figure it out by the last debate, Emperor Obama wears no clothes.
Cole Sprouse,
You long for Dole and Bush Jr? You should watch “Midnight in Paris” as it explores the amnesia brought upon by nostalgia. It may help you.
Look here, I hold an AA, a BA, an MA, and an M.Phil. from some of the most distinguished public and private universities in the nation. I am also a GW doctoral candidate in a social science department set to get a Ph.D. before age 25 so don’t you dare talk down to me. I study this stuff for a living.
Bronze Hippo: It makes me ashamed to be associated with an American political process where people actually take these “debates” seriously (and that’s quite a generous description of these four events…I like to think of them as portents of the unfortunate end of the American Empire).
Alumni ’12: I meant what I said about W and Dole in jest. Or do you not understand the rather blatantly sarcastic “almost makes one miss…x, y, x?” Of course they all lied. Hell, Obama and Bill and Hillary all did/do too. Reagen sure as hell did. But the governor–it’s one thing to change positions or distort the facts, but to say he’s going to cut taxes across the board but make no spending cuts and then on top of that add more to the defense budget, all while claiming that Obama is “soft on Iran” when Romney’s proposes to “put them on warning.” That is a lie. A lie, a lie, a lie.
This man has no honor. Granted, that’s common with politicians, but he based his campaign around it. At least when Senator McCain said “Country First” you could tell he genuinely believed it. No one could doubt McCain’s morality, work ethic, and mastery of the issues (I’m not going to even mention his running mate here). But there is a special place in hell reserved for W. Mitt Romney, a cheap opportunist hypocrite who is making me and many others lose faith in our political system for good.
And one more thing: it’s one thing to say that government isn’t the solution. It’s quite another to ridicule those who believe they have a “right to food, shelter, and healthcare.” Because those are basic human rights. I’m not a huge fan of Obamacare and some of his welfare policies, but as a Christian I believe everyone deserves at least these are inalienable rights. “Inartfully stated” my ass. Romney’s church should be ashamed of him. The Catholic Bishops took Congressman Ryan to task for his anti-Christian budget.
Anyway, I was originally trying to respond to the initial comments by “Billy Mitchell” and “Orly Taitz.” We’re kind of in a lose-lose situation here. On the one hand, we’ll get a wishy-washy unsocial procrastinaor or a flat our liar who is running the most foul presidential campaign in modern times.
too long to read
^This is one of the reasons our education system sucks (including that of a private institution like GWU)
Perhaps the commenter is stressing brevity and conciseness?
Even with all of those degrees (or near degrees), you missed Obama’s lies. We can start with closing Guantanamo Bay and stopping domestic wiretapping. Seriously, best wishes on your impending PhD…remember that education is no substitute for experience. Get out and see the world (not a semester in Europe or two weeks across Africa but living with indigenous people where they don’t speak ‘American’ and have never seen a Pop-Tart for at least a few months).
“I hold an AA, a BA, an MA, and an M.Phil. from some of the most distinguished public and private universities in the nation. I am also a GW doctoral candidate in a social science department set to get a Ph.D. before age 25 “- I’m sorry who’s the narcissist?
How dare you suggest he’s a narcissist! Go wash his daddy’s BMW, plebian.