The first tangible sign that the deal was complete was a gesture as the ceremony opened.
The black-tie ceremony opened with a performance of "We Will Rock You" by Queen.
In Israel, a semi-annual ceremony, attended by the President, opens the winter and summer sessions of the Knesset.
The ceremony opened with "in memoriam" photos of personalities important in rock and roll who had died in 2006, which included Hodge.
Traditional ceremonies will open and close each day.
The ceremonies will open with carpenters, of all people, carrying planks of wood.
Next Monday in Garland, Tex., a ribbon-cutting ceremony will open the first of several planned "hypermarkets."
The latter ceremony opens ordinary and extra sessions of the Diet.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony opened the new Vasco Road on August 1, 1958.
The ceremony opened with Tom Cruise, the first of a parade of performers talking about their greatest experiences in a movie theater.