In cool and overcast conditions, invited dignitaries then laid their wreaths at the Cenotaph.
There may have been many appreciators in the audience of invited dignitaries, but there didn't seem to be many fans.
At his peak in the 1980s, Mr. Manges (pronounced MAN-guess) invited dignitaries to hunt at the Magic Kingdom, his vast ranch in South Texas.
This past summer, apparently on a whim, he invited dignitaries, including a British diplomat, to ride a roller coaster at a new amusement park.
Invitations to the public for these seats, which are bleachers, are distributed after the various government agencies have invited dignitaries and their guests.
Among the invited dignitaries who have declined to attend are Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. Rod Stewart, who is known to charge $1 million for private parties, is rumored to be the surprise headline act.
From the moment frontman Dale Barclay came to the front of the stage and eyeballed the crowd – made up of ticket winners, invited dignitaries and media people – I was transfixed, literally on the edge of my pew.
"If the Congress votes against it, they'll be kicking themselves in the rear 10 years from now, because America will be paying the price," Mr. Clinton told scores of invited dignitaries.
He dug a mile-and-a-quarter beneath the cliffs west of Dover, where he invited dignitaries, including the archbishop of Canterbury and the Prince of Wales, to champagne receptions in the tunnel shaft.
The invited dignitaries and celebrities began gathering at midafternoon under white sailcloth tents at Pier 12 in Brooklyn, where they boarded Circle Lines ferries for the short trip across the bay to Governors Island, the world's largest Coast Guard base and normally a sleepy village of 3,500.
Few bands could compete with that, but on Saturday the Glaswegian trio the Amazing Snakeheads – located at a point somewhere between Alex Harvey, the Wipers and the Birthday Party – prove that it's possible to both rock and roll even in a former church, in front of an audience of ballot winners and invited dignitaries.
