Inaugural ball ticket demand intense

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Details of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's inaugural balls have yet to be released but the clamor for tickets to them is at a fever pitch, observers say.

The Presidential Inaugural Committee will host several "official" Washington inaugural balls when Obama is sworn in next month but exactly how many there will be and where they will be held haven't been decided, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

"The details have not yet been firmed up," PIC spokeswoman Linda Douglass told the newspaper.

But that hasn't stopped a huge demand for tickets to events where Obama is scheduled to appear. The bad news is that passes to those events are mainly offered to campaign workers, donors and volunteers and the chances of anyone else obtaining them are practically nil, the Post said.

Because of that, a cottage industry of unofficial inaugural balls has sprung up in Washington, with an estimated 45 parties and events being listed by Washington tourism officials. The newspaper said those range from elegant soirees to sparse get-togethers, all of which Washington power brokers are likely to skip in favor of quiet dinners with friends.