The Biggest Sound Gig, Ever!

All Ears On MSI & Clair For Obama Inauguration

01.20.2009

The Washington Mall from 14th Street during today's inauguration. Photo courtesy of Clair Global.

By Clive Young.

Washington, D.C. (January 20, 2009)--Four score and eight years ago, loudspeakers were used for the first time at a presidential inauguration. A lot has changed since Warren G. Harding's 1921 inauguration as the 29th president, but with today's swearing in of Barack Obama as the 44th commander in chief, one thing was still the same: The president had to be heard.

Ensuring that the massive audience heard every word were both Baltimore-based Maryland Sound International (MSI), which has provided audio for two other inaugurations, and Clair Global (Lititz, PA). In the January issue of Pro Sound News, Bob Goldstein, owner of MSI, predicted, "We're thinking this may wind up as probably the largest amplified event ever, period." The Associated Press estimated that more than 1 million people were on-hand today, while MSNBC placed it as around 2 million, far surpassing the record of 1.2 million for Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

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http://prosoundnews.com/article/19464

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