US to get its 44th and first black President today

WASHINGTON: Barack Obama was set to create history on Tuesday by being sworn in as America's first black President to bring hopes of change to a nation battered by recession and weary of wars.

The 47-year-old first African-American to enter to the White House as the 44th President, Obama would be sworn in by the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at 11:30 a.m today (2200 IST) at the Capitol Hill.

Tens of thousands of people, braving severe cold, have started flocking to Washington from all over the country to be a witness to the historic occasion, when a black would become the US President. Estimate say that by the time Obama takes his oath the figure would swell to well over 2 million people.

His inauguration would take place outside US Capitol which slaves helped build.

"Tomorrow we will come together as one people on the same wall where Dr Martin Luther King dreams echo still," the President-elect said last night.

US Secret service and thousands of police personnel have thrown unprecedented security ring in a three square kilometer area where the event would take place. Sharp shooters in plain clothes have been deployed in the area.

The actual inaugural ceremony itself would begin at 11 a.m. today (2130 IST) on the West Front of the US Capitol with musical selections by the US States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Body Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

The Democratic Senator from California Dianne Feinstein, in the capacity as the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, would deliver the welcome address and call the function to order. This would be followed by invocation by Dr. Rick Warren.