BARACK OBAMA’S RALLY planned for Croke Park next month will probably be an all-ticket affair – but people hoping to see the United States’ commander-in-chief won’t have to pay out for the privilege, it is reported this morning.

The Irish Independent reports this morning that while ticketing arrangements have yet to be finalised, it is all but confirmed that no entry fee will be charged to see the US President give an address at GAA headquarters.

The accessible nature of the address – being held in Croke Park so as to regulate the volume of people who can attend – will mean that security will be a major concern, with attendees possibly being patted down or frisked on their way into the stadium.

Ailish O’Hora and Paul Melia’s article mentions that Obama has a history of free-entry events – when he gave an address in Berlin before his election in 2008, for example, access was free. On the night of his election, meanwhile, his acceptance speech at Grant Park in Chicago was also free to enter – though tickets were distributed online to regulate the crowds.

It is all but certain that if the plans for Obama’s rally ultimately come to fruition, the tickets would be distributed through Ticketmaster, which already exclusively handles ticketing arrangements for the GAA’s own events at Croke Park.

Ticketmaster has also previously handled free-entry events in Ireland, with attendees paying either a handling charge to their local Ticketmaster agent, or – more modernly – with tickets being emailed to their holders to be printed out and scanned at the venue.

A provisional date of Monday 23 May has been set for Obama’s address, though the event could be moved to the previous day, a Sunday, when a larger crowd would be expected.

Read more on Obama’s visit in the Irish Independent >