First inauguration of Barack Obama First inauguration of Barack Obama The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe Biden as Vice President. Based on the combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was among the most-observed events ever by the global audience. "A New Birth of Freedom", a phrase from the Gettysburg Address, served as the inaugural theme to commemorate the
Invitations to the first inauguration of Barack Obama included Obama's aunt Maggie Obama and an uncle, Said Obama. Members of the general public also received invitations to the inaugural ceremony. Invitations were sent to constituents, who received one of the 240,000 color-coded tickets to the inaugural ceremony distributed by House and Senate congressional members of the 111th U.S. Congress. Invitations to the first inauguration of Barack Obama One million invitations to Barack Obama's inauguration were sent out in the first week of January 2009. Printed between December 11, 2008, and January 2, 2009, the invitations invited people to celebrate Barack Obama's inauguration as the forty-fourth President of the