WASHINGTON: Just for once, Washington is outshining New York and Los Angeles. The small and usually sedate city is, for this coming week, party central.

America’s capital is bedecked in red, white and blue bunting with images of Barack Obama staring out from commemorative woolly hats, handbags and Metro tickets. Despite temperatures forecast to be below zero – with the possibility of snow – up to 2 million people are expected to crowd into the Mall on Tuesday to watch George Bush depart and Barack Obama be sworn in as the new president.

Joining them will be actors, musicians, talkshow hosts, chefs and other celebrities who would not normally be seen outside Malibu or Manhattan.

The five-day schedule is crammed with more than 1,000 concerts, balls, dinners, receptions and parties, ranging from the Creative Coalition Gala Inaugural Ball, where tickets start at $10,000 and rise to $100,000, to the Black Cat club charging $10 to hear the 80s punk band Anti Flag.

Among the hundreds of celebrities attracted by Obama’s star power are Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington, Beyonce, Shakira, Sting, Bono, Susan Sarandon, Bruce Springsteen, the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Jack Johnson, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor, Patti LaBelle and Harry Belafonte.

Some, such as Oprah Winfrey, are not just arriving to party but looking for homes. The diva of afternoon television, who was so convinced of Obama’s victory she bought her inaugural gown before election day, has said she plans to divide her time between her hometown of Chicago and Washington.

The official party began on Saturday with Obama’s train ride from Philadelphia to Washington and ends on Wednesday when he and his family join in a prayer service at the National Cathedral.

Most of those arriving in the city by plane, bus and car do not have an invitation to the balls or other functions. For an older generation, which grew up in the days of segregation, it is enough just to be in the city for the historic moment when Obama takes the oath of office.

Obama acknowledged this week that he is under pressure to try to match the great inaugural speeches of the past. The touchstone is JFK’s in 1961, on a day choreographed by Frank Sinatra. Kennedy, young and suave, headed for Congress in a top hat to deliver the line – “Ask not what your country can do for you” – that became a call to public service.Theodore Sorensen, the Kennedy speechwriter, told the Politico website: “Obama is the most eloquent presidential candidate since JFK and I would think we would hear the most eloquent speech since JFK’s 48 years ago.”

The president-elect, in an interview on Friday with USA Today, sounded satisfied with the draft that he completed last weekend – but said he was still revising.

“My job in this speech and in my presidency is just to remind people of the road we’ve travelled and the extraordinary odds that we’ve already overcome,” he said.

As the first African-American president, he called himself “an emblem” of that progress.

The theme of his speech is Lincoln’s line from the Gettysburg Address, A New Birth of Freedom, and there will be lots of echoes throughout the day, including the inclusion in the parade of the Massachusetts African-American guards unit that fought in the civil war and was feted in the movie Glory.

He will be delivering his address to the biggest crowd in America’s history, surpassing the 1.2 million who turned out to see Lyndon Johnson in 1965. However, city officials have scaled back initial estimates of 4 million visitors to between 1.5 million and 2 million.

Self-styled entrepreneurs hoping to rent their homes for astronomical sums during inauguration week found far fewer takers than expected, and, on the eve of the inauguration, previously sold-out hotels had sudden vacancies.

Washington’s mayor, Adrian Fenty, said that even at this late date he did not know how many to expect, and the White House this week declared a precautionary state of emergency for the city because of the crowd, offering to stump up some of the costs.Estimates for the final bill are put above $150m, much of it on security. The security service is being backed up by 10,000 police and 10,000 National Guard members. Large tracts of the city centre are being fenced off and bridges over the river from Virginia will be closed to traffic.

There is a risk for Obama, in spite of all the goodwill towards him. If the whole occasion appears to be too ostentatious, it could set off a round of grumbling about extravagance in a time of recession. Some events are being toned down because of the global financial downturn – with the addition this year of a Neighbourhood Ball for Washington locals as well as a People’s Inaugural Ball being sponsored by an area businessman.

By far the biggest assembly of stars will come tomorrow in the free open air concert at the Lincoln Memorial headlined by Springsteen, Beyonce, U2, Shakira, Usher, Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock among others.

Later, there is a Dreams of My Fathers party at a swanky Washington hotel. The celebration, which takes its name from Obama’s memoir, features Alicia Keys, LL Cool J and Macy Gray.

Monday, which is Martin Luther King Day, was supposed to be a more sober occasion. But Spike Lee will be at a forum discussing the emergence of Obama and his impact on the African-American experience.

Monday night brings out the Obama girls at a Kids’ Inaugural with performances by Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.

The hottest tickets for grown-ups in the pre-inaugural line-ups, meanwhile, are Al Gore’s Green Ball, and the party hosted by the blog queen Arianna Huffington, where Sting and will.i.am are to perform.

That is a seismic change from the last two inaugurations when people were clamouring to get into the Texas Black Tie and Boots ball.

In a telling detail about the shifting nature of power, tickets are still available at a heavy discount online.—Dawn/The Guardian News Service