The big ticket

VIPs hunger for invite to first Obama state dinner, for PM Manmohan Singh; event will be held in a tent on the White House lawn tonight

The big ticket

VIPs hunger for invite to first Obama state dinner, for PM Manmohan Singh; event will be held in a tent on the White House lawn tonight

What's the hottest ticket in the US capital? An engraved invitation to tonight's White House State Dinner, the first hosted by US President Barack Obama.

He and the first lady will honour Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In a departure from the traditional venue, the elegant, high-ceilinged State Dining Room, the Obamas instead will gather with a few hundred VIPs in a huge, heated shamiana on the South Lawn.

Their dinner will be for 130 in the state dining room, followed by dancing in the lawn to which a further 200 guests are invited.

The guest list for the black-tie gala remains a closely guarded secret, so there's heavy speculation about who may turn up. After the staid years of president George W Bush, who liked to be in bed by 9pm, Washington is desperate for some glamour.

White House veteran, Dee Dee Myers, who served as press secretary for Democratic president Bill Clinton, is certain that there's been "relentless" lobbying by lesser mortals seeking an invite.

"The lobbying is generally pretty big, but add the social cachet of the Obamas and the fact that it's the first state dinner.
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The first is always the most dramatic. First impressions are important. That's your A-list, that's your top game right there."

Among the Hollywood contingent asked to attend, are talk show diva Oprah Winfrey; onetime Dream Works partners David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg; Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Michael Lynton; and WME Entertainment Agency co-CEO Ari Emanuel (his brother Rahm is the White House chief of staff).

The dinners generally draw administration officials, members of Congress, the cabinet and the diplomatic corps. Obama donors, and corporate titans, Hollywood glamour, athletic greats and leading artists are bound to be thrown into the mix.

The Tent

The gargantuan tent affords a bigger crowd than could fit in the State Dining Room, which holds only 140.

But until the dinner is pulled off, the heat is on, perhaps for no two people more than Chicagoan Desiree Rogers, the White House social secretary, and Cristeta Comerford, the White House's top chef.

Khana Khazana

The White House has invited chef Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit in New York City to cook the dinner.

As Singh is vegetarian, this enables Michelle to showcase her White House vegetable garden, which has come to symbolise her campaign for healthy eating.

The goodie bag will include a jar of honey from Michelle's beehive.