ISLAMABAD: Inauguration Day holds great significance in US political history and the day provides the presidents an opportunity to demonstrate their public support.
According to Yahoo News, here are reported estimates of crowd sizes at the inaugurations of the past.
Crowd estimates
- Joe Biden, 2021: 1,000 on Capitol Grounds (due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions)
- Donald Trump, 2017: 300,000-600,000
- Barack Obama, 2013: 1,000,000
- Barack Obama, 2009: 1,800,000
- George W. Bush, 2005: 400,000
- George W. Bush, 2001: 300,000
- Bill Clinton, 1997: 250,000
- Bill Clinton, 1993: 800,000
- George HW Bush, 1989: 300,000
How crowds are counted
Experts estimate crowd sizes by studying aerial photographs, according to the AP. Before the National Park Service stopped releasing estimates, they’d use a grid system to divide the Mall into sections of equal square footage. Then it counted the number of people in each section of the grid by looking at how tightly packed the crowd was and assigning a number of people per square foot.
Inaugural estimates are challenging because the density of the crowd varies widely. Events in Washington are difficult in general because the city’s lack of tall buildings and security restrictions on aircraft make it tough to get comprehensive aerial images.
Ridership on the Washington’s Metro system and hotel vacancies can also be used for comparing attendance between inaugurations, according to Yahoo News.
