Asked if he was disappointed at the tardiness of the polls, one Dinka tribesman in Juba sagely replied that he was confident they would open eventually, on "African time".The late openings will, however, further complicate an already dangerously cumbersome exercise.
New business openings rose 2% in 2013 but that was still fewer than were opened in 2011, reckons Dane Stangler of the Kauffman Foundation, a think-tank.This says little about the tax cuts' merits; larger forces drive state economies.
The film's bow compares to superior $37.4m and $29.8m openings for District 9 and Elysium in 2009 and 2013, though the film-maker will hope to do better outside north America.
He worked with the estimated 10,000 volunteers who formed the show's cast – the director famously attending every one of hundreds of hours of rehearsals, in the car park of the abandoned Ford plant in Dagenham, among other places – including a hardcore of serial Olympic ceremony volunteers, people who had taken part in openings in Sydney or Athens.
In London, galleries in Chelsea allow in all and sundry for their openings and give you wine while you gaze at conceptual art.
The campaigners, who include many current Walmart workers as well as former employees and members of the alliance Our Walmart, are demanding wages of at least $25,000, more full-time openings and an end to retaliation against workers who speak out about their conditions.
New openings over the last year include the recently completed Les Voûtes de la Major precinct of boutiques and restaurants near the cathedral and les Halles de La Major market, underneath Cathédrale de la Major, dedicated to gourmet foods.
But perhaps Kulter's true accomplishment is the creation of a relaxed and homely atmosphere, right down to the servings of bread and homemade soup on the stove at openings.
Without their support he'll cascade downwards through the diminishing strata of celebrity, through bad sitcoms and reality shows and shopping-centre openings, until he hits rock bottom and ends up successfully running for London mayor.
There's been a boom in luxury hotel openings, one of the latest being Mukul on the Emerald Coast.
