However for some residents it was not possible to attend, for example because of scheduled holidays, or maternity leave.
A spokesperson from Ban Ki-moon's office denied having a list of attendees, but said: "We are very encouraged by the large number of positive responses from heads of state and government and we are expecting as many of them as possible to attend to the summit".
And yet, as anyone whose job requires a lot of meetings will know, it is possible to attend to your phone at the same time.
Four months earlier, a national holiday was declared in Malawi to allow as many people as possible to attend the funeral of the late president, Bingu wa Mutharika, who had died of a cardiac arrest, aged 78.
During my surgical training, it was not possible to attend the funerals of patients for whom I'd cared.
Ultimately, she tried to arrange for as many as possible to attend private boarding schools, their only hope of a better life.
I was 20 years old and attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee – if it is possible to "attend" when you are depressed to the point of not being able to get out of bed.
Reporters were allowed to attend, of course.
Interestingly, counselling and testing for HIV were also found to be a possible deterrent to attend ANC, because of some men's refusal to attend ANC.
The new student maintenance loans for living costs of up to £8,200 a year or £10,702 in London are supposed to make it possible for anyone to attend university, regardless of income and background.
