A dress rehearsal for US president's inauguration is held in Washington D.C., Jan. 16, 2005. It will take US President George W. Bush less than a minute to take the oath of office next Thursday, but before the inaugural events are over, millions of dollars will be spent on parades, parties and pyrotechnics.(Xinhua/AFP)

It will take US President George W. Bush less than a minute to take the oath of office next Thursday, but before the inaugural events are over, millions of dollars will be spent on parades, parties and pyrotechnics.

For weeks, the bands have been practicing, and construction workers have been building reviewing stands and scaffolding for the 55th US Presidential Inauguration.

The four-day party and extravaganza starts on Monday, January 17.

The inauguration is expected to cost 40 million US dollars, nearly half of which has been contributed by large corporations and private individuals from those corporations.

In an age when the US government is running up a huge debt, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and tsunami victims are still struggling to bring their lives back together, some are questioning the idea of spending so much on a one-off event.

Alex Knott, political director of the Centre for Public Integrity, says the public should know that contributors to the cost of the inauguration are buying more than just a good time.

"What people really think about, they think about the swearing in ceremony, they think about the president walking down Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues. That's what people think about when they think about the inauguration. They don't think about what much of 40 million dollars goes toward, which is all these festivities behind the scenes where lawmakers and administration officials get the opportunity to schmooze with some of the most wealthy individuals in our society today."

Bush will take the oath of office for a second term on Thursday, January 20.