Inauguration planners unveiled the official tickets for President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration Thursday morning -- and none of them will be purple, a nod to a notorious 2009 snafu.
About 3,000 people holding purple tickets got stuck on foot in the Interstate 395 tunnel when trying to attend President Barack Obama's first inauguration, causing many of them to miss the ceremony. The tunnel was later nicknamed the Purple Tunnel of Doom.
"No one's been courageous enough to use that color again, including me," quipped Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), the chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
During Thursday's press conference, Blunt said Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration will have more ceremony entrances than previous inaugurations, but attendees should be prepared to go through rigorous security.
"I think there's no question that on inaugural day, this would be the most appealing target in the world, and I think people coming understand that," Blunt said. "They know it's going to take a while to get through the [security] process, and everybody should be dressed for whatever the weather appears it's going to be that day, and plan to be out in it for quite a while."
No one will be admitted into secure areas without a ticket, Blunt said.
The vast majority of tickets will be issued to members of Congress, who are considered the hosts of the event. Tickets will become available to members of the U.S. House on Monday, and to members of the U.S. Senate the following day. The members will then determine how to allocate the tickets.
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Each ticket will be edged by one of seven colors -- light blue, dark blue, red, orange, yellow, green and gray -- to designate specific seating areas and suggested entrance points for those areas. The backs of the tickets will feature a map illustrating the color-coded seating areas.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 20, following a musical prelude.
