The country just has to ensure there are enough seats for all of the guests.

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Both guests and the press are told to be in their seats long before that for security reasons, so you find yourself leaving the Beverly Hills Hotel in evening clothes at 3 in the California afternoon while more rational folks are heading for the beach.

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After being introduced by Knopf head Sonny Mehta, father and daughter took their seats on two upholstered chairs in an intimate auditorium filled with around 200 attentive guests and talked for a little less than an hour.

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By the time Ian Humphreys replied in kind for Ulster, even the guests in the new hospitality boxes had deserted their indoor video screens and taken seats in the open air, reluctant to miss any of the action and sensing that something special was about to unfold.

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