When Sen. Barack Obama takes to the stage in Manchester on Sunday afternoon, he will look out at a sell-out crowd of more than 1,500. Audience members will have traveled from 13 different states, including South Carolina and Virginia. Of the 150 journalists covering the event, a handful will be from as far away as Japan and Denmark.

"As we lead up to the presidential primary, it's the biggest one so far," said Maurine Bowman, the director of sales and marketing for the Radisson Hotel, where Obama will speak.

If the response to Obama's planned visit is any indication, he will enter the Granite State a political rock star. Thus far in the 2008 presidential primary process, Sunday's event is unparalleled in size and national attention. Late Wednesday, the New Hampshire Democratic Party sold out of tickets for the event, which is standing-room only.

Last month, Obama agreed to speak at the event, which is a celebration of the state Democratic Party's Election Day victory, which tipped the balance of power in the House, Senate, Executive Council and both congressional districts. Sunday will mark the first time Obama - a first-term U.S. senator from Illinois - will visit New Hampshire since he emerged as a possible presidential candidate.

Democratic Party officials initially settled on the Radisson's ballroom for the celebration. But before invitations to the event reached New Hampshire Democrats' mailboxes, several hundred tickets were sold, said Kathleen Strand, a party spokeswoman.

"It far exceeded our initial expectations," Strand said. The ballroom, which holds 500, would no longer suffice; party officials decided to open up the armory as well, making room for more than 1,500 guests.

The Obama frenzy isn't confined to the Manchester event.

At 11 a.m. Sunday, Obama will sign copies of his new book - The Audacity of Hope - in Portsmouth. The 750 free tickets to the signing "were gone in just a few hours," said Tom Holbrook, owner of RiverRun Bookstore, which is hosting the event (the event will take place at the Frank Jones Center to meet demand). Holbrook will have 900 copies of Obama's book on hand; Obama, Holbrook said, agreed to sign one copy for each audience member.

Since the Democratic Party announced the event, media requests poured in from the New York Times, Time magazine, a Tokyo television network and a host of national television stations, including CNN and Fox News. The party sold tickets to residents throughout New England and down the coast.

Another sign of the excitement: one man called party officials to inquire about what he should wear, Strand said. There's no dress code, she said. "It's really just about celebrating the great victory that Democrats experienced here and Senator Obama has certainly turned into an unprecedented event, I think, in New Hampshire's Democratic Party history."

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By SARAH LIEBOWITZ

Monitor staff