Nothing quite like “the claw,” as it is called, has ever been constructed on the White House grounds: The giant overhang covers the ring for Sunday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event, occurring on Donald Trump‘s 80th birthday and billed as one of the Freedom 250 events celebrating America’s sesquecentennial.

Early on Thursday morning, dozens of reporters got a first look at the set up, with UFC logos abundant and a gallery of about a dozen sponsors, from Polymarket to the Morgan & Morgan law firm, branded on the ringside. The “claw” towers over the Executive Mansion, its Vegas-like streams of neon-like lights already lit at night.

The event is expected to draw about 4,000 spectators to the South Lawn, filling the cushioned seats in the makeshift arena, the National Park Service said. About 120,000 visitors are expected on the Ellipse, where a viewing event is taking place.

The NPS cited the figures, as well as $60 million in costs so far, in a court filing challenging a lawsuit seeking to stop the event. Two Virginia residents challenge its authorization, claiming it violates National Park Service and environmental regulations.

A federal judge has yet to issue a decision, but the bigger concern for organizers likely is the weather: As is not out of the ordinary for this time of the year, D.C. has entered a pattern of ultra-high humid and hot days, culminating in late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms, some of them severe and with lightning.

According to AccuWeather, the forecast is for a thunderstorm in the area in the late afternoon, meaning potential heavy wind gusts and downpours, with a high of 94 degrees and 55% humidity. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. ET and is scheduled to go past midnight.

Craig Borsani, UFC executive producer and chief content officer, told reporters on Wednesday, “We have a few options. One is to stay on air and we do have contingency planning where we can remain on air and continue to broadcast from a location close by the South Lawn, and if we feel like a weather pattern is coming in that will pass through and we can resume, we will. We would not leave the broadcast. We would just fill and report from site. It is a bit of an evaluation.” He also said that they will be talking regularly to a meteorologist who is providing regular updates and will do so on Sunday as well.

The event has been in the works for about a year, when Trump talked up plans for a UFC fight on the White House grounds, with the date ultimately landing on his birthday. Set to stream on Paramount+, the event list of ringside sponsors also includes BudLight, Monaco, Toyo Tires, Fre Nicotine Pouches, Crypto, Cuervo Tequila, Total Wireless, Stake Casino Experience, Dutton Ranch, Vechain and Pitboss Grills.

Also planned is a press conference at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday evening, while the Ellipse is a site of a Fan Fest on the weekend, with the Zac Brown Ban performing on Saturday night.

At the White House, the UFC got what is undoubtedly a premiere benefit of the event: Free publicity, with reporters fanning out across the empty seats for stand ups. In the background was the noise of construction crews working on the bunker and foundation of the new East Wing, albeit whether that can include Trump’s plan for a massive new ballroom is being weighed by a federal appellate court. Elsewhere, the U.S. Marine Band was preparing for rehearsals, and crews were putting the final touches on walkway ramps.

There was some buzz among reporters that Trump would make an appearance at the preview, but he did not. As it was ongoing, he threatened new strikes on Iran, writing on Truth Social, “The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT.” In early afternoon on Thursday, he canceled the bombings, saying that “discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”

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