Texas A&M will host the five former living presidents – Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – on Saturday for Deep From the Heart: The One America Appeal, a concert for hurricane relief efforts.
Plans for the concert were announced by the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation earlier in October to aid in relief efforts for hurricanes that caused destruction in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Tickets to the event, ranging from $30 to $600, sold out in less than 24 hours with all of the proceeds dedicated to aiding in relief efforts.
According to David Jones CEO of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation, the idea for this event came from former President George H.W. Bush.
“What was originally scheduled to be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Bush Library and Foundation and Bush School of Government and Public Service quickly became an opportunity to raise money for hurricane relief following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria,” Jones said in a press release.
The ticket sale proceeds will go to One American Appeal, a hurricane relief fund started by the former presidents, which began in September to aid in the storm victims’ processes of healing and recovering, according to bush41.org.
Funds raised will reach victims through the Houston Harvey Relief Fund, the Rebuild Texas Fund, the Florida Disaster Fund, Unidos Por Puerto Rico and The Fund for the Virgin Islands, according to oneamericaappeal.org.
The event will feature musical performances by Alabama, Lyle Lovett, the Gatlin Brothers, Robert Earl Keen and more in Reed Arena, set to hold 10,800 seats after staging construction, according to an article in The Battalion. Attendance to the large event is expected from students, local community members and visitors to College Station.
To accommodate the influx of people on Saturday, the University Police Department has been working with the Secret Service, according to Lieutenant Bobby Richardson.
According to the Secret Service website, the Secret Service is the federal law enforcement agency that is charged with providing protection for the president and former presidents, amongst other roles.
“Secret Service is running lead on the security detail and we’re assisting them,” Richardson said. “They are pretty much in charge of that. They have their protocols in place and we’re supplementing them and assisting them.”
UPD officers will have assigned positions in and around Reed Arena Saturday,  in collaboration with Secret Service, Richardson said.
The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Oct. 21.